If Armenia refuses to recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Azerbaijan has every right to act in same way - Russian military expert

By Trend

The peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia should include the recognition of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity by Armenia, Igor Korotchenko, a political expert and editor-in-chief of Russia’s National Defense magazine, told Trend.

While delivering a speech at the 5th Congress of World Azerbaijanis in Shusha, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that if Armenia refused to sign the peace agreement, we wouldn’t recognize its territorial integrity either and would officially declare that.

"The renunciation of territorial claims against neighbors should be reflected in the Constitution of Armenia as well. Yerevan's refusal of the peace agreement makes Azerbaijan act in the same way: if Armenia doesn’t recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, then why should Azerbaijan recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia? This is reciprocity, which is the basic principle of international diplomacy. Being a diplomat by education, President Ilham Aliyev shows a legally verified position, making all the Armenian political forces reassess the current situation and take the path of realism, not confrontation. Because confrontation will lead Armenia to unfortunate consequences," Korotchenko noted.

According to him, Armenia's revengeful forces are still determined to use external actors for their own purposes. The external actors are the politicians that are either corrupt or reflect the interests of the Armenian lobby," Korotchenko said.

He stressed that the peace treaty could be probably the only way for the Armenian economic development.

"The peace agreement is the unblocking of borders and active participation in transport, logistics, and economic projects. Therefore, it's beneficial for Armenia in terms of its own interests. Moreover, depleting the state budget with a continuous arms race is absolutely unfavorable in the current economic situation. The economy is the key to the effective functioning of any country, so signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan will contribute to Armenia's economic development, as well as improve the lives of the Armenian people. Thus, Armenia should be interested in the peace treaty even more than Azerbaijan," he added.