Azerbaijan never concealed its ambitions to estrange Armenia's south - expert

Azerbaijan never concealed its ambitions to estrange the southern region of Syunik to later apply the same expansionist policies also to other parts of Armenia, an expert in Azerbaijani studies said today, commenting on President Ilham Aliyev's statement warning Yerevan against "obstructing" his country's plans to build a "road corridor" through Zangezur.

Armine Adibekyan called attention especially to the neighboring country's territorial claims towards Yerevan, Lake Sevan and even part of the Tavush region connecting Armenia with Georgia.

In her words, the Azerbaijanis wish to downgrade Armenia's status to state similar to Lesotho, an enclaved country on the territory of the South African Republic. She blamed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government for the kind of "ill-fated future", expressing concern also over the ongoing border demarcation activities in Syuinik.

"The Armenian authorities are taking part in a process which, apart from damage, offers absolutely no benefit to the Republic of Armenia. Armenia is losing territories because Azerbaijan is prepared, having representatives with 30 years of experience," she told reporters at a news conference.

As the only reasonable solution in the current state of affairs, the expert reiterated the demand for the current authorities' resignation. "A change of government must be definitely the first step whenever it comes to Armenia's present and future. Nikol Pashinyan and those who walked with him [to sweep to power in the wake of the "Velvet Revolution"] must leave the government. Any lingering would threaten Armenia with the scenario of either an Azerbaijani region or a Turkish villayet or a Russian exclave. Perhaps it is time to take radical steps to oust the current regime. Yet, Pashinyan alone is not apparently the only one to be ousted as we have also a legitimacy problem with the outside world," he added.