Russian political scientists: For Pashinyan, the state of war is a way to stay in power

A peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is theoretically possible, but not with the current leadership of Armenia in office, political scientist Stanislav Tarasov thinks. 

“For Pashinyan, the state of war is a way to stay in power. The conclusion of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan will have significant political consequences for the Armenian nation and the entire statehood,” the expert explained.

Tarasov noted that the West is currently a key element supporting Armenia. “The interests of the Western partners supporting Armenia do not coincide with those of Azerbaijan,” the political scientist noted.

He added that the Russian expert community is puzzled as to what exactly has annoyed Tehran about the “Zangezur corridor”.

“In all this, I can see the realization of the information-political operation of special services. An order was given to activate the anti-Russian forces,” Tarasov noted, adding that there are both “conservatives” and “liberals” (reformists) in Iran who are oriented toward the West.

In a conversation with Moskovskij Komsomolets, political scientist Sergey Markov noted that there are still many contentious issues between Baku and Yerevan. This is, first of all, the “Zangezur corridor”. According to him, the Constitution of Armenia and the existence of the OSCE Minsk Group on the Karabakh issue are also problematic. Baku insists on the dissolution of this format, while Armenia is against it. “If Armenia wants peace, sooner or later it must meet these conditions,” Markov said.