Aliyev, once again, threatens Armenia with war

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is taking advantage of the domestic instability in Yerevan and once again using a threatening tone against Armenia. On the 6th of February, Azerbaijani media reported that President Aliyev accused Armenia of “obstructing the creation of the Zankezur corridor.” This is a dangerous development because the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 never mentions the term “corridor” in any Armenian territory connecting Azerbaijan proper to Nakhichevan. “We [Azerbaijan] are ready to collaborate with Armenia. How many times have the deputy prime ministers [of the two countries] met already? Armenia refuses to collaborate,” said Aliyev during a meeting with the ruling “New Azerbaijan” Party. “Now Armenia wants to obstruct the implementation of the Zankezur corridor. But they will not succeed; we will force them,” he asserted. Aliyev also stated that the opening of the “Zankezur corridor” is a historic achievement and great political victory for Baku, once again mentioning that Zankezur is “historic Azerbaijani territory.” What’s remarkable is that this time Aliyev directly threatened Armenia, and the regional developments may work to his advantage again.

Aliyev’s remarks can be looked at from the context of certain dissatisfaction within Azerbaijani society regarding the latest developments in Artsakh. In February, authorities in Artsakh introduced a bill to add Russian as an official language alongside Armenian. In an explanatory note on the reasons for introducing the draft bill, its authors cited “cultural, military and economic relations” between Nagorno-Karabakh and Russia, historical memory and the fact that many residents already speak Russian as their second language. “The long-term presence of Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh; the awareness of the need to jointly solve numerous social and communication problems; and cooperation in the areas of construction, healthcare, education, and science require a reassessment of the role of the Russian language,” RIA Novosti quoted from the document submitted to the National Assembly. Furthermore, the deployment of Artsakh troops alongside the Russian peacekeeping forces in the Russian-controlled zone of Artsakh raised alarms in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan repeatedly demanded the disarming of “Armenian militias” in Artsakh. All these developments pushed Aliyev to take a harsh position.