Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan made a notable statement while commenting on the opposition's views that the country needs a security guarantor. In his statement to journalists, the Speaker emphasized that Azerbaijan is the main guarantor of Armenia's security.
Simonyan added that various forces are trying to draw Armenia and Azerbaijan into a military confrontation against each other again:
“Many forces want to drag us back into war. However, these attempts must be prevented”, he stated.
In a statement to Modern.az, security expert Ilham Ismayil said that after a peace agreement, Armenia and Azerbaijan will indeed not pose a threat to each other:
“Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan had stated that Armenia is the guarantor of Azerbaijan's security, and Azerbaijan is the guarantor of Armenia's security. The point here is that after a peace agreement is signed between the two states, they will not fight under the influence of other forces, nor will they pose a threat to each other. If Russia somehow changes power in Armenia on the eve of elections, then Armenia could pose a threat to Azerbaijan. Revanchists could seize power, and frequent violations of the ceasefire could occur”.
The expert emphasized that after a peace agreement is signed with Azerbaijan, a security environment will indeed be created, primarily for Armenia:
“After relations normalize and a final peace agreement is signed with Azerbaijan, a security environment indeed emerges for Armenia. This is because with the establishment of economic ties with both Azerbaijan and Turkey, Armenia's economic dependence on Russia decreases. In such a case, Russia's influence and the threats it poses diminish.
This is particularly related to the fact that during his last meeting with Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin openly spoke about the threats facing Armenia. Therefore, it is normal for Alen Simonyan to discuss relations with Azerbaijan and present it as Armenia's guarantor. Improving economic ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, especially opening the Turkish border, distances Armenia from the Russian threat. When the Armenian side refers to "other forces," they primarily mean Russia, and they say that good relations between the two states without its interference mean that they are guarantors of each other's security”.
