Radar Armenia‘s interlocutor is international affairs expert Shahan Gandaharian.
– Mr. Gandaharian, let’s first examine Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister announced the end of negotiations on a peace treaty, and the RA Foreign Ministry also announced that the peace treaty is ready for signing. Will the document be signed soon?
– The parties announced that they had agreed on the Peace Treaty. Baku has already violated the agreement in the format of the statement. It did not make a joint statement. This is another example of a breach of trust. However, on the day of the statement, Aliyev said that trust in Armenia is zero. The impression is that Azerbaijan does not want to agree. He puts forward new conditions and speaks with confidence. If this is true, Azerbaijan is being pressured to agree. Of course, there is a theory that in this way, Azerbaijan is trying to get the most out of it. The statement does not mean a signature yet. There will be new interim issues. The pressures will continue.
– What did Bayramov’s words about dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group and changing the RA constitution mean? In other words, do they continue to put forward preconditions and delay the signing?
– The behavior of the Turkish-Azerbaijani field about the Armenian side continues to be conditional. On the one hand, cessation of armaments, extradition of war criminals, and amendment of the constitution; on the other hand, refusal to recognize the genocide, non-promotion of territorial claims, dissolution of the Minsk Group, withdrawal of international claims, etc. Certain preconditions have already been applied.
– What is the reason for reaching an agreement on the document? Is it related to the events taking place on the Ukrainian front? When they seem to be talking about peace?
– I think so. The agreement should be viewed from a global perspective. The elimination of the Russian factor makes it clear that the de-blockade routes will not be controlled by Russian border guards. It is no coincidence that Iran quickly welcomed this agreement. For example, the Russians are leaving the airport, the Armenian-Iranian, Armenian-Azerbaijani, and Armenian-Turkish border posts. The functioning of communication channels without the Russians is the whole nail in the coffin of this agreement.
– How would you comment on the Russian-American negotiations? Was the meeting in Moscow effective?
– There are ups and downs in the actions before the ceasefire. The ceasefire is conditioned, on the one hand, by the control of Russian troops over certain Ukrainian territories and, on the other hand, by the consent of American speculations in Ukrainian mineral resources. This is a considerable trade that forms specific barriers in Russian-American and Chinese relations.
