Azerbaijan diverts attention from internal problems by means of border tension: political scientist
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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 18, ARPENPRESS. Escalation of tension in the line of contact of Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing armies during the last one and a half years is connected with the decline of Azerbaijani oil-gas prices on which the country greatly depends. The Azerbaijani authorities escalate the situation in the conflict zone to divert its own people’s attention from social-economic and political hard conditions.
“Armenpress” reports that Sergey Minasyan, Head of Political Studies Department at the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, expressed such an opinion during the first meeting of Expert club of Novosti Armenia (News Armenia) international news agency.
According to the political scientist, the recent escalation of tension in the line of contact is unprecedented both in terms of quality and quantity indicators.
“This year we have a situation, when after 1994 ceasefire, the conflict parties (Azerbaijan was the first one) used heavy artillery, artillery rockets. Azerbaijan felt that maintenance of tension brought no results, and attempts to influence the position of the Armenian side in this manner, failing in the latter. But what has been clear for the Armenian party for already 10 years, is not clear for Azerbaijan yet,” Sergey Minasyan said, adding that the adversary has also used tanks this month.
He emphasized that the current situation will bring no quality changes to the policy, apart from that, it can induce the parties to take aggressive steps.
Minasyan added that there’s a social demand in Armenia and the Nagorno Karabakh to respond more strictly to the Azerbaijani side.
Regarding the meeting of Armenia and Azerbaijani presidents in Bern, Switzerland on December 19, Minasyan said that there are not any serious expectations connected with that.