Azerbaijani president admits betraying partners and even alllies -  expert 

ArmInfo. Armenian political scientist Karen Igityan highlighted the main messages of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev regarding Russia, which he voiced in a recent  interview with local media.

As Igityan noted on his Facebook page, firstly, Aliyev accused Russia  of colonialism. The political scientist noted that this narrative was  enshrined in the constitutional act of October 1991, in education and  elsewhere. "It is noteworthy that Aliyev also accused Persia of  colonialism, instead of the myth, common in Azerbaijani  historiography, that the history of Iran (the Safavids, Qajars, etc.)  is part of the history of the Azerbaijani state, since, according to  this myth, Turkic Azerbaijanis ruled Iran," Igityan added. According  to the expert, Aliyev also stated that "the Azerbaijani people lived  under colonial rule for centuries: in ancient times, during the  Russian Empire, during the Persian Empire, and during the Soviet  Union-it was nothing other than colonialism."

Furthermore, Igityan noted that the Azerbaijani leader again  mentioned the closure of the Berdzor corridor in the presence of  Russian peacekeepers. The political scientist quoted an excerpt from  Aliyev's interview:  "At meetings in Brussels, I repeatedly told my  Armenian counterpart that we should not test their patience, that we  can at any moment completely take control of the so-called 'Lachin  corridor,' regardless of who is there or what others say."

As Igityan explained, the very presence of Russian troops was  unacceptable to Aliyev. Therefore, as the political scientist noted,  the Azerbaijani president had carried out ethnic cleansing against  the Armenians of Artsakh and forced out the Russian military. To  support his claims, he cited Aliyev's statement that he "could have  stopped in Shushi and declared that he had thereby won Armenia, but  he noticed that 2,000 Russian officers and soldiers were stationed in  the area, and therefore began a criminal war and ethnic cleansing."

The political scientist also cited a passage in which the Azerbaijani  president speaks veiledly about Russia.  In this passage, as Igityan  noted, Aliyev states that recently "many exciting events involving  Azerbaijan have occurred in the region, unrelated to Armenia, and  which Azerbaijan has navigated with dignity, demonstrating that the  country should be treated with respect, as it will not tolerate  rudeness, insolence, or attempts at dictatorship, for which it needs  a combat-ready army."

In light of this statement, the political scientist urged the  question of what other events have occurred in the region, besides  the deterioration of Russian-Azerbaijani relations following the  plane crash.

Regarding Aliyev's latest statements about Armenia gaining a  connection with Russia via a railway through Azerbaijani territory,  and Baku's interest in a North-South route through Astana, Igityan  expressed his conviction that these are further ploys by the  Azerbaijani president in an attempt to entice both sides to open a  corridor. "I think Aliyev is being disingenuous here again, trying to  lure everyone into opening the corridor by promising certain future  opportunities. He promises everything to get what he wants, and then  breaks everything. Just like after November 10 (the trilateral  statement of November 9/10, 2020, which ended hostilities in the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone - ed.)," the political scientist  explained.

The expert noted that the Azerbaijani president also described how he  constantly "sold out" his partners and even "allies" to Western  countries, explaining how Armenia and Russia were circumventing  sanctions. "A kind of 'insider,' as one of his partners once called  him. He backed down a bit and continued making promises," Igityan  noted.

In this regard, he cited another excerpt from Aliyev's interview, in  which the Azerbaijani president calls for attention to Armenia's GDP  and trade turnover with Russia. As Igityan noted, Aliyev noted that  "when the Russian-Ukrainian war began, trade turnover between Armenia  and Russia was around $2 billion, and two years later, that figure  had reached $12 billion," adding that this clearly demonstrates the  situation. 

According to Aliyev, as Igityan emphasized, "this is a clear  mechanism for circumventing sanctions-as they say, parallel imports  or imports from the 'gray zone.'"