It has been 16 days since the Lachin corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the world has been closed. Radar Armenia spoke with political scientist Armen Baghdasaryan about the crisis in Artsakh and ways to find a way out of the situation.
– Lachin Corridor has been closed for 16 days. How do you see the solution in this situation?
– At the moment, the Lachin Corridor can only be opened through negotiations because there is simply no visible other option. It is a different matter in that it is more in the Russian-Azerbaijani domain. The task of the Armenian authorities should be to constantly try to include the issue, to put pressure both through the international community and on Russia as a guarantor of the document of November 9, 2020, and to get Russia to resolve the issue, open the Lachin Corridor because Armenia does not have other levers.
– As a matter of fact, even the direct evaluations of the international community have just yielded results. Russia also needs to give a clear assessment of what happened. What does such a manifestation of the Russian side mean?
– I think the reason is that Russia is trying to benefit from the actions of Azerbaijani “ecologists.” In other words, to use that circumstance as a lever of pressure on Armenia so that Armenia, for example, gives way through Syunik, under the control of Russian special services. In that case, Russia will simultaneously control both corridors. That is why Russia uses the Lachin Corridor situation to achieve its goals. And the Armenian authorities have announced that this is a red line for us, and they do not give way to pressure. Thus, Russia and Azerbaijan are using the closure of the Lachin Corridor to pressure Armenia. It is a different matter that each one will achieve its goal. In terms of putting pressure on the Armenian side, the interests of Russia and Azerbaijan coincide. And this is the reason why the Russians are not taking steps to open the Lachin Corridor.
– A mass rally took place in Artsakh. What issue was solved by it, and what was the main political message of the rally?
– The number 1 message of that rally was, of course, addressed to the world. It showed that, yes, there is Artsakh, a single-minded population that does not agree to remain part of Azerbaijan under any circumstances. In other words, there is the will of the people. The whole problem is that this is our only argument because we have a similar idea to present to the world. All that remains is to refer to the will of the people and the right to self-determination. And this is quite a powerful, influential argument. The main goal was to make the whole world listen, and it succeeded. Many prestigious international media referred to the Artsakh rally. The second message was also addressed to the authorities of Armenia. In a relatively open text, it was said not to make concessions; we are ready to resist until the end, not to make unacceptable concessions, considering our difficult situation suddenly. We are prepared to fight again. In short, this was also a call for unity because if they face challenging conditions, then Armenia should do the same. And there is no need to make concessions, which will put not only Artsakh in a more complex situation but also Armenia.
– There was an allegation that at the Artsakh rally, an attempt was made to undermine the efforts made by Armenia for the opening of the Lachin Corridor. Did you see such a trend?
– The problem is not the trend; the problem is the real levers to solve the issues. Since those real levers are not in the hands of Armenia, Artsakh, and its authorities, the people should jointly try to talk to the addressee of the fundamental levers, which is Russia. And it is no coincidence that the people of Artsakh marched on the Russian peacekeepers, and even today, they are going to go and directly negotiate with the command of the Russian peacekeepers. It is not a matter of subordinating or not subordinating here.
