Ara Papian: It was a great concession to agree to the meeting with Aliyev (video)
Director of Modus Vivendi Centre, Ara Papian, thinks that tensions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border will continue in the future. He says the Karabakh issue is just a pretext for Azerbaijan. “They want Armenia to withdraw its troops from the border. Everything is very clear: either we destroy Azerbaijan or Azerbaijan destroys us. Even if you give Azerbaijan the entire Karabakh, it will not calm down and will want to take Zangezur,” Mr, Papian said on Monday. The political analyst says Azerbaijan should be deprived of the opportunity to unleash a “new aggression” against us. “It is necessary to pay attention to the issue of oil and gas exports and work with national minorities living in Azerbaijan,” he stressed. While Mr Papian thinks that the planned meeting of Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev will be held [in Vienna], he does not expect major breakthroughs after the meeting. “Anyway, it was a great concession to agree to the meeting,” he said. Under the present circumstances, Mr Papian says it is necessary to make ssignificant changes in the country [Armenia] in order to ease the situation. “I think Serzh Sagsyan wil have to make those changes. Any defeat in Karabakh means an end of Serzh Sargsyan's power and many other things. Should the army retreat, it will not stand on the other line, but will go directly to the Presidential Palace at Baghramyan 26. Serzh Sargsyan should improve the situation in the army, clean it and punish the guilty ones. The dismissal of military officials is not enough. Those people have robbed the army and they should be made liable for their actions,” Mr. Papian said in conclusion.
