It is Armenia`s turn to be destroyed - expert 

ArmInfo.The Republic of Artsakh was destroyed, now it is Armenia's turn, expert in oriental  studies Sergey Melkonyan said as he commented on the statements by Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan in the Tavush region of the country.

The expert suggested following in the footsteps of a new preparatory  stage to transform Armenia into an appendage of Turkey and  Azerbaijan.

"Firstly, Nikol and his team are scaring the population with war,  equating it with defeat. Let me remind you that before their arrival,  the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia did not lose a  single war.  And already under their leadership, Yerevan lost in 2020  and 2022. , and also did not show up for the war in 2023, when  Artsakh fell.That is, the war was equated to defeat and capitulation  only during their period (although one can win a war, or at least not  lose).

Secondly, at first they said "we'll give up Karabakh, we'll live."  Now they say "let's give Tavush back and we'll live." Tomorrow they  will say "we'll give up Syunik and we'll live." This is the same  "salami tactic" - cut off little by little (first from Artsakh, then  from Armenia). Later they will reach the regions of Yerevan. For  example, they will evict everyone from the Kond district in order to  open an Azerbaijani cultural center," he noted.

Thirdly, the expert continued, the country's leadership first called  for violating the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia, proposing  to change the Constitution. According to him, and now they are  assisting in the violation of territorial integrity, offering to  surrender part of the Armenian territory to the enemy.  Melkonyan is  confident that this process will actually legitimize the surrender of  the country's territory under the threat of the use of force in  violation of international law, which will become a common precedent. 

At the same time, he wonders what can be done in the current  realities.

"The line of defense in Tavush is one of the most effective. It was  prepared and strengthened in particular by the commander of the 3rd  Army Corps Grigory Khachaturov (Major General, son of Colonel General  Yuri Khachaturov), against whom the authorities opened fake criminal  cases (now many understood why).  Obviously, if any territories are  surrendered, the line of defense collapses. As long as it is not  destroyed, it can be effectively defended (but such a task is not  worth it, otherwise Khachaturov would not have been removed and  "criminal cases" would not have been opened against him).

With any country that is not only interested in maintaining the  status quo in the South Caucasus, but is also ready to invest in  maintaining the balance, Armenia can conduct military exercises in  Tavush and beyond.  These could be light maneuvers that legitimize  the presence of an external force capable of acting as a deterrent to  Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression.

If no one wants to cooperate on this issue, then put on the agenda  the issue of synchronous exchange of territory: Azerbaijan is leaving  strategic positions on the territory of Armenia, which it occupied in  May and November 2021, as well as in September 2022, with the  participation of a mediator capable to level out the power  imbalance," the orientalist believes.

According to Melkonyan, he does not see indicators on the basis of  which it can be asserted that the government sets a goal to preserve  the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country (rather,  even the opposite - to surrender as quickly as possible). "There are  also no prerequisites that this regime will leave in the short term.  Therefore, we expect the worst scenarios: unilateral surrender of  territory with the destruction of the defense line and strategic  communications with de-Armenization of border settlements, or a  limited escalation, as a result of which territories will be  deliberately surrendered to the enemy," concluded expert.

Earlier, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, during a  conversation with residents of border villages, said that if Yerevan  does not comply with Baku's demands to transfer a number of border  villages to Azerbaijan, then a war will begin. And in case of war,  Trkiye will support Azerbaijan.