Azerbaijan Fully Benefited from the Ukraine War: The Jerusalem Post

More than three weeks have passed since Azerbaijan, one of the world’s most repressive and autocratic countries, has been blocking the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, initiating a humanitarian crisis. Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh have been deprived of food and medicine. This is mentioned in an article published by The Jerusalem Post.

This action again underscores Azerbaijan's ongoing campaign to terrorize Armenians living in their ancestral homeland. The Azerbaijanis, who closed the road under the false pretense of protecting the environment, claimed to be concerned about eco-terrorism in Nagorno-Karabakh. These are the same environmentalists who pretend to release pigeons into the wild while wearing fur coats, representing a country that has greatly damaged the environment during the Nagorno-Karabakh war by using chemical weapons and burning the forests where civilians sought refuge from Azerbaijani attacks.

In the context of this ecocide, Azerbaijan has also endangered endemic and endangered species in the region, as well as polluted rivers and groundwater, rendering the area uninhabitable for both people and wildlife.

Judging by the available evidence and its rotten ratings in human rights and environmental fields, Azerbaijan is a country that cannot be trusted. In many ways, this is one of the reasons why Baku has moved much closer to Moscow in recent years. Two days before Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin signed a broad agreement with Azerbaijan, deepening their diplomatic and military cooperation. And as the ties between Moscow and Baku strengthen, Armenia becomes increasingly isolated.

Whether intentional or not, Putin has diverted attention from his war with Ukraine, which Azerbaijan has fully exploited. But Putin can afford to do this deliberately to signal to the West that without Russia, there can be no regional stability. In other words, Putin is effectively expanding Russia’s sphere of influence without doing or saying anything particularly notable, allowing Azerbaijan to flex its regional muscles.

This is one reason why Armenia accuses Russian peacekeepers of failing to prevent the illegal blockade of the road leading to Nagorno-Karabakh, in accordance with their duty and mission in the region.

But the world must remember that Putin’s values align more with Azerbaijan than with Armenia—a nascent democracy. Simply put, autocrats tend to stick together. What is happening in Ukraine is no different from what is happening to Armenians; both countries are fighting for their sovereignty, survival, and ideals of democracy. Russia has found an ally in Azerbaijan. And it is time for the U.S. to hold Azerbaijan accountable, put an end to their brazen behavior, and start imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan until they open the road to Nagorno-Karabakh. Democracy and innocent lives are at stake. Time is running out.

The article is authored by Stefan Pechdimaljian, a communication specialist, first-generation Armenian American, and the grandson of survivors of the Armenian Genocide.