A Harsh Signal from Baku: Azerbaijan Should Not Rejoice Over Pashinyan's Words, Diplomat Says

The former Azerbaijani foreign minister Tofig Zulfuqarov urged not to place faith in the statements made by the head of the Armenian government. According to the diplomat, the peace rhetoric adopted by official Yerevan and the political direction to distance itself from Moscow are merely tactical moves.

Zulfuqarov believes that the Azerbaijani media has prematurely labeled Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's words as a definitive turnaround towards the peace process, as no fundamental practical steps have been taken to date.

The former official noted that the true intentions of the Armenian leadership should be assessed in light of their willingness to amend the Constitution and renounce territorial claims.

He emphasized that without organizing a nationwide referendum and revising the Constitution, the signing of a peace agreement will continually be postponed. The Azerbaijani diplomat also pointed out that Yerevan is attempting to present the mutual recognition of territorial integrity as a final determination of borders, while the works on demarcation and delimitation have not yet been completed.

The former Azerbaijani foreign minister expressed skepticism regarding the freezing of Armenian-Russian relations, drawing attention to the increase in trade between the two countries and the maintenance of Russian military infrastructure in Armenia.

Furthermore, he suggested that the Armenian side is shifting the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh from a territorial sphere to that of human rights, which could be used in future phases to bring the topic of the return of the Armenian population back onto the agenda under international guarantees.