On the eve of the first anniversary of Azerbaijan's victory in the 44-day war and the final liquidation of the first in time separatist entity in the South Caucasus - the so-called "Artsakh" - Armenia's Defence Minister Arshak Karapetyan has made a provocative demarche, which threatens, if provocations continue, new wars. And not only between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also in the South Caucasus, where separatist "projects" were once organized.

It's regarding the trip of the head of the Armenian Ministry of Defence, under the "cover" of Russian peacekeepers (whom he thus had discredited) through the Lachin corridor to Khankendi, where under the "cover" of the same peacekeepers armed separatist gangs actively operate illegally (contrary to the agreement of November 10, 2020, according to which they should all be disarmed).

The Armenian Defence Ministry reports that Arshak Karapetyan's trip took place "at the invitation" of Kamo Vardanyan, the "Minister of Defence of the Artsakh Republic", but in reality the commander of an illegal separatist gang.

It is also reported that Arshak Karapetyan visited "combat positions" of the separatist fighters, met with the fighters "carrying out combat duty", "got acquainted with the works on strengthening the positions, as well as social and living conditions of the combat duty".

In describing one of the bandit units, the Armenian Defence Minister stated that "the most important guarantee of peace is to have a strong army that can perform the assigned combat tasks", by "army" he meant a separatist bandit group. Karapetyan also awarded a number of fighters with diplomas and departmental medals of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia. It should be reminded that all this was taking place on Azerbaijani territory, without the knowledge of the Azerbaijani authorities. And with his move, Arshak Karapetyan only complicates the future of the Armenian population of Azerbaijan, which has yet to be gradually incorporated into the peaceful life of the country.

Actually, a peaceful settlement of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia is impossible without recognition of the territorial integrity of the two countries, the return of refugees (including Azerbaijani refugees to the Republic of Armenia) and the peaceful integration of the Armenian population of Karabakh into a unified Azerbaijan. But for this to happen, any reminders of some kind of "Artsakh" must first be completely eliminated. The separatist project must be erased from history once and for all as an obstacle to mutual understanding between the peoples. Similarly, the reintegration of Abkhazians and Ossetians of Tskhinvali into united Georgia should have followed the same pattern sooner or later.

The time for secessionist border redrawing and ethnic cleansing in today's world that is becoming globalised is hopelessly long gone. And any attempt to "turn back the clock" is a direct route to new wars. Which should logically end with a complete and total elimination of even the most insignificant " debris" of separatist projects, but will bring sorrow and misery to the peoples. Especially peoples in a catastrophic demographic situation. And what peoples in the South Caucasus are in such a situation is well known. They are the Abkhazians, the Ossetians and the Armenians.

At the same time, if Armenians in separatist Abkhazia demographically surpass Abkhazians due to migration from the Republic of Armenia, the Russian Federation and the separatist "Artsakh", causing complete catastrophe of this ethnic group, in the Republic of Armenia there are fewer and fewer Armenians and the state is rapidly becoming empty. The 44-day war took the best part of the Armenian gene pool: at least 8 thousand young Armenians died. Many more were crippled for life. A new war over foreign lands, which could be much bloodier, could finally destroy the future of Armenians as a nation.

All the more so, Arshak Karapetian's illegal visit to Azerbaijani territories looks provocative against the background of Azerbaijan's clearly expressed desire for peace with Armenia.

Thus, in a statement issued on Monday, 8 November, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said that Azerbaijan is ready to re-establish normal relations with Armenia and considers the implementation of the trilateral statements on Karabakh important:

The Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry stresses that "Azerbaijan's forward-looking vision strategy is based on ensuring lasting peace, development and progress.

With the removal of the factor of occupation of its territories, Azerbaijan is ready to normalize its relations with Armenia on the basis of strict compliance with international law, in particular the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of international borders,".

Yet official Yerevan responds by not only failing to demonstrate its readiness for a peaceful settlement, but also by carrying out provocative demarches, making it clear that it has not turned away from its claims to someone else's territory. In this case Azerbaijani territory. It is therefore logical that the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has reacted harshly to the demarche of Arshak Karpetyan, noting that this provocative trip to Azerbaijani territory was deliberately carried out on the eve of the anniversary of the Trilateral Statement signed by the Presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia and the Armenian Prime Minister on November 10, 2020.

"By doing so, Armenia's military and political leadership, in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, seeks to destabilise the situation in the region and cast a shadow over the activities of Russian peacekeepers.

Instead of drawing conclusions from total defeat in the 44-day Second Karabakh War, adapting to the new geopolitical situation in the region and strengthening peace and security, the Armenian military leadership attempts cheap military adventures for domestic consumption.

This visit by the Minister of Defence of Armenia once again proves that Armenia continues to provide direct support to illegal Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan, aggressive separatism and terrorist acts. At the same time, elements of the Armenian armed forces continue to be present on the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed.

The Armenian Minister of Defence is reminded of the fate of his former colleagues and other Armenian generals who made utopian statements about "Ohanyan's impassable line", "new wars - new territories". We warn the military-political leadership of Armenia that in case such illegal visits to Azerbaijani territories are repeated, necessary measures will be taken in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan to prevent aggressive separatism and terrorist provocations," a statement from the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence said.

Armenia's demonstrative support of separatism in the Azerbaijani territories is also dangerous because the "Artsakh" separatist project is linked to the Abkhazian and Tskhinvalian ones and they are all coordinated by the Armenian lobby. And the demarches by the same Arshak Karapetyan to "reanimate" separatism on Azerbaijani territory means that the Armenian lobby's support for separatism on Georgian lands will only increase.

Kavkazplus