"L. A. Armenians may be expelled to Yerevan suburbs overnight"

In your opinion, why does Armenia reject the proposals to de-occupy Azerbaijan’s territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh in the course of 5 years?

Liberation of at least one region by Armenia will lead to a breach of military engineering lines in the occupied territory. But even this is not the main thing. It is Russia who holds keys to the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Moscow, in turn, does not want this conflict to be resolved. Russia wants to prevent penetration of the U.S. in our region, because the South Caucasus has traditionally been in the sphere of Russian influence.  I think, if Armenia agrees to de-occupy 20% of Azerbaijani territory, there will be forces ready to prevent that.

As of late former Armenian President Ter-Petrosyan has been under constant criticism by authorities for his statements that Armenia’s development is impossible without solving Karabakh conflict on the basis of compromise. Do you think there are still political forces in Armenia ready for a constructive dialogue on Karabakh?

I would not call them "forces". Armenia and all its policies are controlled from outside. But, of course, in Yerevan there a lot of sensible people who understand that without a solution to the Karabakh conflict it is impossible to stop the degradation Armenia is going through. These people are ready to go for a leader who is determined to take active actions in Karabakh, because they see that their neighbors have long entered the 21st century in terms of development, while Armenia is still stalled in the 80s. Sober-minded people in Armenia are ready to go for peace with its neighbors, but the problem is that outside forces will never allow them to come to power.

Armenian diaspora has strong influence on many decisions adopted in Armenia. In your opinion, is the diaspora ready to compromise in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution to pave a way for the country’s development?
 
I am just wondering whether the Armenian Diaspora is aware that it is being manipulated. For example, in the U.S. it is sometimes advantageous for Washington speak through Armenian diaspora. Therefore, their lobby still exists there. But if they cease to be of interest to the White House, or will act against their will, they will simply be "kicked out".

This reminds me the moment in history after the surprise attack by Japan on U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor. After that incident the Japanese were unceremoniously expelled from the States, "free country" with "much vaunted" democracy. Similarly, the Armenians of Los Angeles, if necessary, may be overnight expelled to the suburbs of Yerevan, where actions of the diaspora contradict Washington’s political line. Therefore, the influence of the Armenian diaspora should not be exaggerated.

Those in Armenia constantly declare that they will do everything to extend Kosovo scenario to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan...

This is not even worth thinking. "Parade" in the world is managed by the U.S., which is the sole world power. Yugoslavia’s disintegration was advantageous for the U.S. So, several small states replaced a single large country and this process of fragmentation is still ongoing. With regard to Karabakh, Washington has entirely different interests in this regard. Not accidentally, U.S. Assistant Secretary Philip Gordon said that Kosovo and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are totally different things. So, it is at least naïve to think that Kosovo scenario will take place in Nagorno-Karabakh on Armenia’s initiative.


/Day.Az/