Baku Parade Was an Insult and Attempt to Humiliate Not Only Armenians and Armenia, But Also Russia: Konstantin Zatulin

The parade organized in Baku was an insult and an attempt to humiliate not only the people of Armenia and Armenia itself but also Russia, as an ally of Armenia. This was stated on December 11 during a discussion regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by Konstantin Zatulin, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots. According to him, the parallels drawn by the Azerbaijani president between Nagorno-Karabakh and the Great Patriotic War and the fight against fascism are false, offensive, and worthy of condemnation.

“Russia understands that the well-known agreement signed is not a final solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as it does not state anything about the status of the remaining parts of Nagorno-Karabakh. I categorically consider it impossible to conduct negotiations through force. After Russia’s presence in Nagorno-Karabakh, I hope this will not happen. Aliyev understands that the statements about Zangezur, Yerevan, and Sevan 'belonging' to Azerbaijan are provocations,” said the deputy.

Zatulin reminded that Aliyev had spoken about the Yerevan Khanate a few years ago: “His demands are unrealistic. Propagandistic statements, such as those regarding the Christian churches operating in Azerbaijan or the 20,000 Armenians living in Turkey, do not withstand any scrutiny. Those 20,000 Armenians, who allegedly live and thrive there in Turkey, would be more if not for the genocide. After that, some countries present their ‘fake’ versions of what happened during the Soviet period in Baku and Sumgait, discussing the issue of Azerbaijani refugees from Armenia and forgetting to mention that there are more Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan. The gunpowder must be kept dry, yet there is a guarantee that has emerged today, which must be strengthened, and that is Russia's intervention directly in the conflict zone,” Zatulin concluded.

The people of the Republic of Artsakh have the right to self-determination, considering that at the time of the collapse of the USSR, Azerbaijan did not control the territory of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region. He pointed out that Turkey and Azerbaijan bear primary responsibility for the beginning of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The party that violates the status quo and agreements (Azerbaijan) has become the beneficiary of this conflict. This is a very serious lesson and a very bad example that can be applied in various cases and by different parties. There have been those wishing to fight in Donbas, tension is observed between Moldova and Transnistria, and so on,” he added.

“The regions that were occupied by Armenian forces at the time of the active cessation of hostilities should have been returned to Azerbaijan, removing the question of a corridor between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. In due time, for its internal reasons, Armenia made the mistake of taking on the responsibility of negotiating the conflict resolution entirely. The format that existed before implied that Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh participated in these negotiations, and the participation of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh did not seem such an obstacle, as did the absence of Nagorno-Karabakh, which was gaining relative independence. Almost all leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh became leaders of Armenia; they knew the situation and hoped that a resolution could be achieved, but that did not happen,” Zatulin noted.

He added that especially after the “velvet revolution” in Armenia, due attention has not been paid to the Azerbaijani threat. “Pashinyan’s statement that ‘Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, and that’s it,’ along with several other actions aimed at reaffirming this, was an attempt to visibly downgrade the status of the leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh to the level of a regional governor from one of the Armenian regions. All of this played its role. Pashinyan believed that this was necessary due to internal circumstances, the struggle against the so-called Karabakh clan of the previous authorities, and the desire to prove that there is no issue. In any case, the main issue was Azerbaijan’s and its ally Turkey’s eagerness to resolve the issue through force. Armenia must learn lessons from this defeat. It would be very surprising if Armenia's future passed under the guise of justification and self-justification for those who allowed this mistake while also intending to cling to power in the future. The main questions that must be solved in Armenia should be how and by whom to restore Armenia. The Armenian people, first of all, have suffered enormous moral damage,” the deputy concluded.