Official statements and the development of processes suggest that the next goal of Azerbaijan in the current period will be the liberation of 8 villages still under the occupation of Armenia.
Publika.az informs that these words were said by the head of “Telegraf” Media Group, political scientist Aynur Jamal in his statement to Akhar.az, while commenting on Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov’s opinion that the return of 8 villages was discussed in the border delimitation process.
According to him, the issue of the return of the villages of Baganis Ayrim, Kyzyl Hajili, Ashagi Eskipara, Kheyrimli, Sofulu, Yukhari Eskipara and Barkhudarli of Kirki and Gazakh was put forward by the official Baku when the November 10 statement was adopted:
“There was also information that the Armenian side made a verbal commitment to return these villages. Later, he tried to evade his obligations in this matter, just as he exhibited a non-constructive position in the signing of the official Yerevan peace agreement. However, Jeyhun Bayramov’s statement once again confirms that this issue is the main subject of all negotiations and is constantly kept on the agenda. It is clear to everyone that Azerbaijan will not give up even an inch of its land. Even Armenia’s continued occupation of 8 villages and evasion of its obligations brought up the military solution of the issue.”
According to A. Jamal, there are several reasons why the situation regarding 8 villages returned from the military level to the diplomatic level:
“Firstly, it seems that the Armenian side has agreed to resolve the issue in the delimitation process as they understand that a possible military option will have severe consequences for them. Statements made by Armenian officials, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, show that Armenia is already busy preparing public opinion in this direction.
The second key point is the priority of the peace agenda on the Baku-Iravan line. The prospect of conducting peace talks and signing an agreement in a bilateral format has already appeared, and in order not to lose this prospect, a diplomatic solution to Azerbaijan’s rightful demand has become urgent.
A. Jamal drew attention to Armenia’s manipulations regarding 8 villages:
“Some time ago, they often used the term “territorial exchange”. However, after Azerbaijan’s firm position, the thesis that these discussions “should continue for a long time” was put forward. It was reported that the issue of corridors to villages is not an ordinary matter. Therefore, Azerbaijan removed this process from the peace agreement and transferred it to the level of delimitation and demarcation. This is the reason behind the proposal to return 4 villages of Baku, which are not enclaves, adjacent to other villages of Gazakh – Baganis Ayrim, Kyzyl Hajili, Ashaghi Eskipara and Kheyrimli, in the first stage, and to return the others that are enclaves – Sofulu, Barkhudarlı, Yukhari Eskipara and Kerki – in the second stage. In my opinion, Armenia will eventually have to come to terms with this reality and the liberation of 8 villages will be carried out in two stages. Because the opposite means the actualization of a new military scenario. I reminded that the Prime Minister of Armenia also admitted that enclaves are not included in the territory of 29.8 thousand square kilometers of Armenia, in other words, he actually confirmed that 8 villages are under occupation. The occupied territory must be liberated either peacefully or militarily, and Yerevan understands this. Official Baku does not want the escalation of the military scenario in order not to harm the peace process. Iravan also understands that in the military option, Azerbaijan will provide the corridor to the exclaves by itself, and this is definitely not a suitable scenario for Armenia. Therefore, I think that this process will be completed peacefully.”
