Armenian PM says Azerbaijan gearing up for "full-scale war"

[E-Dawg]

https://eurasianet.org/armenian-pm-says-azerbaijan-gearing-up-for-full-scale-war
I'm surprised there isn't a topic about this yet. The wild thing about the Armenia/Azerbaijan conflict is that the USA and Israel are supporting the bad side (Azerbaijan) while freaking Russia and Iran (countries I would never have anything else positive to say about) are supporting the good side (Armenia). Geopolitical alliances can be pretty wacky. Obviously, I stand with Armenia against this aggression.

In pursuit of it's territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Armenia's government has taken the novel position of ignoring the Treaty of Lausanne (which established modern Turkey) and asserting that the prior Treaty of Sevres (which carved up the Ottoman Empire) is still "in force". This is both a threat to a NATO member and a threat to the post-WWII order. That ought to explain why the bad guys are backing Armenia.

Here's a 2020 interview with the then-President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian:

Question: But the Treaty of Sèvres remained on paper…

Answer: I would rather say that the Treaty of Sèvres was not fully ratified (which means it remains unperfected and it is true that when it comes to Armenia its decisions were not implemented because the international political situation had changed but, at the same time, it was never denounced either.

The Treaty of Sèvres is a legal, interstate agreement which is de facto still in force because this document became the base for other documents, which derived from it, for determining the status of a number of Middle East countries after WWI or more recently, among them Syria (currently Syria-Lebanon) and Mesopotamia (currently Iraq-Kuwait), Palestine (currently Israel and Palestinian authority), Hejazi (currently Saudi Arabia), Egypt, Sudan, Cyprus, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya.

The current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has publicly referred to the Treaty of Severs as "a historical fact".


Imagine how the US would react if a the leaders of a country chose to ignore the 1783 Treaty of Paris and started publicly talking about how the  1670 The Treaty of Madrid was still in force. Now consider what Turkey - a member of NATO and a vital ally against Russia, a country whose very existence is tied to the modern world order - thinks of Armenia's territorial claims.

(I'm aware that Azerbaijan wants a corridor to it's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic through Armenia, but I think that the Armenian government's refusal to walk back its territorial claims is playing a larger role is the dispute.)

Oh, I certainly understand why the countries I mentioned have the stances they do toward Armenia and Azerbaijan. It makes sense geopolitically, as much as I hate how my country funds Azerbaijan. I wasn't aware about this specific treaty issue, but it definitely seems unwise of them and I see why it would make NATO upset. I just haven't seen any evidence that Armenia has any territorial ambitions beyond Armenia proper & Artsakh (and I personally believe that Armenia has a right to the later territory considering it's history in the Soviet Union). I think Armenia had the rightful case for the Artsakh territory in the 1990s war, although I fully acknowledge that both sides in that conflict committed a ton of war crimes, Armenia's hands weren't clean there. But the story of the conflict since then has been Azerbaijan slowly increasing its aggression against the territory, until they eventually fully controlled it and forced it's Armenian population to flee. Based on the history of the territory and the ceasefire agreement in 1994, I think that the Armenians in Artsakh had the moral right to protect their territory against Azerbaijan. And if Azerbaijan decides to invade Armenia proper, that conflict would be Russia/Ukraine levels of morally uncomplicated. That would show that it was not just about Artsakh, it would be a clear case of Azerbaijan just wanting to conquer Armenian land. So that is why I would currently say I strongly support Armenia against Azerbaijan.

[All Along The Watchtower]

consider what Turkey - a member of NATO and a vital ally against Russia, a country whose very existence is tied to the modern world order - thinks of Armenia's territorial claims.

Oh I can imagine that people in Turkey have some thoughts about Armenia, and Armenians in general.