Expert: Azerbaijan perceives Armenia as exclusive zone of its  interests and influence

ArmInfo.  Azerbaijan's statements clearly indicate that it perceives Armenia as an exclusive zone of its interests and influence, as noted by Benjamin Matevosyan,  a political observer at the Political Economy Research Institute, in  an interview with ArmInfo in response to a request to comment on  Azerbaijan's recent attacks against Armenia in connection with the  signing of a new strategic agenda between Armenia and the European  Union.

The political scientist is confident that, based on the above,  Azerbaijan is making it clear that no foreign or domestic policy  document in Armenia can be adopted without taking into account the  position of official Baku. "This is the transformation that Armenia  underwent after the loss of Artsakh. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic  gave Armenia strategic depth, both physical and diplomatic. This, in  turn, prevented Turkey and Azerbaijan from interfering in Armenia's  internal affairs. Now the situation has changed 180 degrees, and a  clear manifestation of this was the reaction of the Azerbaijani  Foreign Ministry to the document signed between Armenia and the EU in  Brussels on December 2," the expert believes.

However, he was unsure whether it would be possible to amend the  document already signed between Yerevan and Brussels, and whether the  Armenian side would take such steps in the face of Azerbaijani  threats. In this regard, he believes it is important, in the current  context, to focus on the logic of the ongoing processes. "In a  situation where Armenia is discussing amending the Constitution if it  suddenly contradicts the peace process, it's foolish to expect  Azerbaijan not to interfere in other domestic political processes in  Armenia. The Armenian authorities have already set the bar that the  processes taking place in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process are  more important than the country's Constitution. If it is more  important than the Constitution, then any other document must be  brought into line with the Armenian- Azerbaijani peace process,"  Matevosyan stated.

As for Baku's other complaints against Yerevan regarding the presence  of EU civilian mission on Armenia's borders, the political scientist  recalled that Azerbaijan has consistently opposed the presence of  European observers on Armenia's borders. "The Armenian side has  already stated that after the signing of a peace treaty and the  complete delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the format  of cooperation with the EU on this issue may be reconsidered. This  means that we have already agreed to change our conceptual approaches  to cooperation with the EU in the security sphere based on Baku's  demands.  Armenia is in a horrific crisis of sovereignty," Matevosyan  concluded.