Why Azerbaijan Still Cannot Dominate the Occupied Territories: Armen Ashotyan

Aliyev's visit to Ukraine is significant both in the geopolitical context and in terms of the chosen timing, wrote the Vice President of the Republican Party of Armenia, Armen Ashotyan, on Facebook.

“However, particularly noteworthy is the agreement reached during the visit, according to which Azerbaijan is preparing to rent agricultural lands in Ukraine.

This fact is especially interesting in the context of Azerbaijan's occupation of most of the regions of Artsakh following the 44-day war.

It is no secret that these regions included vast agricultural lands that provided significant reserves of grains, vegetables, and fruits. These lands were of crucial importance not only for ensuring food security in Artsakh but also for Armenia. It is also a fact that Azerbaijan has recently faced a grain deficit.

In this context, Azerbaijan's rental of agricultural land in Ukraine may indicate several realities:

• A. Azerbaijan is unable to carry out normal economic activities in the occupied territories of Artsakh.
• B. Azerbaijanis are reluctant to return to those territories.
• C. Azerbaijanis are uncertain they can maintain control over the occupied territories of Artsakh.

As for the negative consequences of losing those lands for the food security of Armenia and Artsakh, our citizens are feeling it firsthand, especially in the context of a sharp rise in the prices of food products,” Ashotyan wrote.