Armenia began to receive benefits from defeat in war - on eve of anniversary of Victory of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has repeatedly said that the defeat in the war was a blessing for Armenia. The neighbors were outraged and rejected this thesis, seeing it as a mockery of the collapse of all Armenian hopes. But it was not a mockery, it was a statement of the realities in which Armenia will have to live on. And instead of looking for the guilty, dreaming of revenge and sprinkling ashes on their heads, the neighbors should calm down and think carefully. Because Azerbaijan is right.

The positive consequences of the military defeat have already begun to affect Armenia. According to all the rules and taking into account the crimes committed by the Armenians, the defeat should have been followed by a reckoning in the form of reparations and other humiliations. But Armenia was very lucky with its neighbor, who did not demand execution, but reasoned that the former aggressor would be more useful to him as a partner than as an eternal enemy. These are not the times to waste energy and resources on revenge and punishment. It would be more useful to bind a guilty neighbor not with sanctions, but with partnership obligations. Even in Soviet times, Armenia was dependent on Azerbaijan, but then it did not decide anything on its own. Now she had a chance to start thinking with her own head and try to make reasonable decisions. Nikol Pashinyan has shown that he knows how to think soberly. Baku does not expect more from Yerevan at this stage.

Armenia will celebrate the first anniversary of Azerbaijan's victory and defeat in the 44-day war with good news. For the first time in many years, Russian grain has been delivered to the country by rail, and Kazakh grain will soon arrive. 15 wagons with more than 1,048 tons of wheat passed from Russia to Azerbaijan and traveled via the BTK railway corridor to Georgia, from where they were delivered to Armenia. Kazakhstan also sent its grain by rail to Armenia. On Wednesday, it has already passed from Russia to Azerbaijan and will continue to Armenia along the same route as the Russian one.

Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Mher Grigoryan commented on this news with restraint, but with noticeable positive, saying that he highly appreciates "the work done in this direction by Azerbaijani and Russian colleagues. This event is of great importance for strengthening mutual trust and advancing the peace agenda."

Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, during the discussion of the country's draft state budget for next year, spoke about the significant savings that the delivery of goods to Armenia by rail will bring. "I hope that from now on Armenia will import wheat only by rail, which is economically very feasible, both from Kazakhstan and Russia. The cost of both Kazakh and Russian wheat when delivered to Armenia by rail is significantly reduced," he said.

Alexey Melnikov, director of the South Caucasus Railway (SCR), said at a press conference in Yerevan that the transit of Russian and Kazakh grain through the territory of Azerbaijan is an important event - this route will be in demand.

It should be noted that the South Caucasus Railway is a 100% subsidiary of Russian Railways.

Melnikov believes that a completely new story is emerging for the railway today. SCR is already making plans to organize container transportation, including from China. Azerbaijani transit will not only make it possible to unload the Upper Lars checkpoint on the Russian-Georgian border, but also reduce the cost of shipping through the Black Sea, the director of the road says enthusiastically.

Let's clarify that all this became possible thanks to the peacefulness and goodwill of Azerbaijan, which neither the Armenian nor the Russian sides, of course, will say. In Armenia, they pretend to take all this for granted and even do it a little favor. It is even hinted that Baku is acting within the framework of its obligations under the Washington agreements. In fact, Azerbaijan has not undertaken any obligations to unblock the transit of goods for Armenia. He also did not commit himself to unblocking communications directly between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This is a process that cannot be one-sided. Until Yerevan decides on TRIPP and the project of communications through Western Zangezur begins to take shape, the Azerbaijani side will not open the exits at the border. In addition, the opening of border communications in conditions of unresolved issues of delimitation and demarcation may be fraught with risks.

But Azerbaijan, as we can see, has found an option through which it has shown that its neighbors can count on it. And rail transit through Azerbaijan is really very profitable. Although the opposition is trying to look out for economic disadvantages, in reality, Azerbaijani transit is profitable, reliable and safe. No one in Azerbaijan would think of blocking the road of a train carrying cargo for Armenia, organizing protests or trying to cause damage. The train with Russian wheat quietly passed through the territory of Azerbaijan. A freight train with Kazakh wheat is moving towards the Georgian border just as calmly. This is not a weakness on the Azerbaijani side, this is not a sophisticated trick, this is a demonstration by Azerbaijan of its civility. Baku, as always, sets an example.

Earlier in the Day comment.Alexander Karavaev, an expert at the Caspian Institute for Strategic Studies (Moscow), noted that if the process of mutual access to transit of goods between Azerbaijan and Armenia increases, then in the future, specifically by the end of 2026, we can expect the beginning of trade cooperation directly between the economic entities of the two countries. And the trade turnover, according to the Russian expert, can quickly reach $ 100 million.

Thus, by the first anniversary of the military defeat of Armenia, this country began to receive economic dividends from its defeat. If in the future the Armenian side wants to send its products to the Russian markets in the same way, I think Azerbaijan will not object. There are still many advantages ahead for the Armenian society. It is already noticeable how the background of the perception of Armenia and its leader on international platforms has changed. And it is encouraging to see that understanding is coming to the neighbors. This is evidenced by the restraint with which official Yerevan reacted to the statements of the President of Azerbaijan on the anniversary of the Academy of Sciences. It was very noticeable that Pashinyan and his team members were trying to choose their words so that their reaction would not seem harsh and hostile. This is the right approach. Armenia is the party responsible for the years of hostility and bloodshed. She has committed a lot of crimes, brought a lot of grief to the Azerbaijani people, and it is not for her to be violently offended by truthful remarks from Baku.

It is very symbolic that Armenia receives the first shipments delivered in transit through Azerbaijan on the eve of our country's Victory Day in the 44-day Patriotic War. This is significant and important. Even if it wasn't meant that way from the beginning.