ArmInfo.The possibility of a new war in the South Caucasus again ceases to be a speculative prospect. And it becomes clearer why Ilham Aliyev was in such a hurry to hold early presidential elections. A well-known expert on the Caucasus and Central Asia, political scientist Arkady Dubnov, shares this opinion.
In his Telegram channel, Dubnov noted that the recent incident on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border with the death of Armenian servicemen is an extremely serious escalation, which occurs against the background of tightening Baku's requirements for the conditions for concluding a peace treaty with Yerevan. "After the military operation carried out in September last year, the result of which was the complete transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to the control of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev demanded that the Constitution of Armenia be rewritten, excluding any mention of Karabakh from it. Yerevan has already partially agreed with such demands; recently, an entire section "The Issue of Nagorno-Karabakh" in all languages disappeared from the official page of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. Nevertheless, Baku continues to put forward new demands on Yerevan, threatening to use force if they are not met," the specialist states. He noted that the modality of such a policy towards neighbors is now becoming the norm in the post-Soviet space, which the world witnessed in February 2022: A couple of days ago, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with the British The Telegraph, outlined Aliyev's ultimatum as follows: "he said, that if he sees any sign of Armenia re-arming, he will launch a military action against Armenia, he reaffirmed his demand for a corridor through the territory of Armenia to Nakhichevan, he ruled out retreating of his troops from the territory inside Armenia, from strategic heights, saying that he needs these areas so that he can keep an eye on Armenian intentions". According to Pashinyan, "Azerbaijan is taking a step back from the agreements reached." Pashinyan replied that "having a strong and combat-ready army is the sovereign right of any independent state." However, Baku considers the rearmament of the Armenian army dangerous, which could threaten Azerbaijan with an attempt at revenge from Yerevan.
"Whether this is true or not, Baku's desire to condition a peace treaty with Armenia on a ban on strengthening its armed forces looks absurd. Post-war Armenia is not post-war Nazi Germany or defeated imperial Japan, which were subject to similar restrictions..", the political scientist believes.