Pashinyan has no compassion for his people

AActing Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, while sitting in his comfortable chair, doesn’t seem to care much about his own citizens.

War always brutally reflects on ordinary civilians, not on the tops of power. Both, Armenian and Azerbaijani civilians living in the frontline areas constantly experience fear and distress because of the conflict that cannot find its decision for more than 30 years due to unconstructive position of Armenia.

When the leadership of the country has changed, everyone had hopes that at least now the situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict might change and the peace may be established in the region. However, not much has changed since Pashinyan took his office.

It seems that unresolved conflict is somehow beneficial to certain circles of Armenia who have no compassion for ordinary civilians at all.

This is also reflected in what Pashinyan said -- he opposes the return of two Azerbaijani civilians held captive in Armenia in exchange for Armenian captives in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s offer on the exchange of hostages on the principle of "all for all" is a humane approach to solving the problem.

Instead of grappling with this opportunity, thereby proving his commitment to the peace negotiations, Pashinyan became obstinate.

While Azerbaijan, proceeding from the relevant conventions of international law, as well as the principle of humanism, is proposing to exchange hostages held by both parties, Pashinyan, by voicing such statements, thereby recognizes that his country, contrary to the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols it joined is grossly violating its international obligations, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Leyla Abdullayeva said.

In addition to Pashinyan’s indifference towards the fates of his people, this step can also be viewed as a disregard for humanitarian activities constantly encouraged by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

What is obvious from this entire situation? The only explanation is that Armenian leadership has not changed its position and is not a real supporter of peace.

Of course, there are still some opinions that this issue might be reconsidered, since Pashinyan currently experiences pressure on the eve of the elections.

Azerbaijani citizens Dilgam Asgarov and Shahbaz Guliyev have been kept hostage by Armenian militaries in the occupied NagornoKarabakh region of Azerbaijan for more than four years already. They were detained by the Armenian armed forces in July 2014 while visiting their native places and graves of loved ones in Azerbaijan's occupied Kalbajar region. Moreover, Armenian armed forces killed the third Azerbaijani Hasan Hasanov.

Later, Guliyev and Asgarov were judged illegally by the unrecognized courts of the separatist regime in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. Following an expedited “judicial process” in December 2015, Asgarov was sentenced to life imprisonment and Guliyev to 22 years in prison.

Azerbaijan’s State Committee on Affairs of Refugees and IDPs, the State Commission on Prisoners of War, Hostages and Missing Persons and other agencies have repeatedly urged international organizations, including the ICRC, to assist in release of Guliyev and Asgarov, whilst the problem remains topical yet.

In June 2018, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Bar Association Anar Bagirov informed that documents and videos on tortures against Asgarov and Guliyev were submitted to the European Court of Human Rights.

During the investigation carried out on a criminal case regarding the crimes committed by the Armenian armed forces and illegal armed formations in Nagorno-Karabakh, it was established that Armenian nationalists with particular cruelty killed thousands of Azerbaijanis only because of their national identity in Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent areas, that is, in the Azerbaijani lands.

Meanwhile, there are three Armenian citizens Arsen Baghdasaryan, Karen Kazaryan and Zaven Karapetyan, who are professional military saboteurs, in Azerbaijan.

She said Russia would welcome another round of such a meeting if the parties agree to hold it. But it is the sovereign right of every state to decide on holding such meetings. If such a meeting takes place, and it will be constructive, it can only be welcomed,” the spokeswoman stressed.

Zakharova also commented on the refusal of Armenia to exchange prisoners with Azerbaijan on the principle of "all for all".

“We welcome any agreements that are in line with the main task of resolving the conflict. But the agreement involves consent and work to achieve this agreement. Therefore, Azerbaijan’s initiative is remarkable, but it needs to be worked out in order for it to turn into agreements,” concluded Zakharova.

The 25th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the countries participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE Ministerial Council) will be held under the Italian chairmanship in Milan on December 6-7, 2018. Аcting Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan will also be present at the meeting.

Commenting on the question whether the meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan will take place, the head of the press service of the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan said similar proposal was made by the mediators. When the possibility of the meeting will be clarified, we will inform you, he concluded.

It is clear why official Yerevan is quite cautious in the comments on the prospects for holding a meeting of the heads of the two foreign ministries. The sooner it is said directly about holding the meeting, the longer it will take another reason for Pashinyan’s opponents to use it to criticize the acting Prime Minister.

As the voting day approaches, Nikol Pashinyan and his opponents will make increasingly harsh statements on Karabakh. This means that the possible meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in early December will be held against a rather problematic background.

It is impossible to completely exclude that meeting will eventually be postponed. And if it takes place, then a sharper rhetoric can be expected from the official Yerevan on the eve and on the results of its holding.