Azerbaijan's Odd Behavior: Pashinyan on Aliyev's 'Western Azerbaijan' Initiative

Despite the outcomes of the quadrilateral meeting in Prague, where Azerbaijan and Armenia were expected to recognize each other's territorial integrity, the Azerbaijani side is behaving oddly. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Berlin during a discussion on "Security and Stability in the South Caucasus: The Prospects for Armenia" at the German Council on Foreign Relations, as reported by the Prime Minister's press service.

Specifically, Pashinyan found Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's so-called "Western Azerbaijan" initiative to be strange.

Just ten days after the Prague agreement, President Aliyev announced that the delimitation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be based on historical maps. "Do you know what that means? It means that Armenia has no sovereign territory, and the entire territory of the Republic of Armenia is supposedly 'Western Azerbaijan,' while simultaneously claiming that we want peace and so on. This is a very strange situation. This is the main problem in our relations," said Pashinyan.

He noted that in Baku (and specifically President Ilham Aliyev), the Syunik province of the Republic of Armenia is referred to as the so-called "Western Azerbaijan." Aliyev claims that this area is allegedly the historical territory of Azerbaijanis, although Armenians have leveled it and destroyed all historical and religious monuments. Additionally, Aliyev stated that "Azerbaijanis have lived in the territory of present-day Armenia throughout history."

What was agreed upon in Prague
On October 6, 2022, PM Pashinyan participated in the European Political Community summit in Prague and had a quadrilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in addition to a bilateral informal meeting with Turkish President Erdogan. During the quadrilateral meeting, Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma-Ata declaration, through which both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

It is noteworthy that the Prime Minister traveled to Berlin with his wife, Anna Hakobyan, and daughter, Shushan Pashinyan. He has already met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.