Armenia is not fully confident in the top of the separatist regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Apparently, this is what dictated the frequent visits of the Armenian leadership and its patrons to the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, presented as "events of state importance." Thus, Armenian officials are trying to imitate their active participation in the Armenian people's fate, not realizing that their provocative actions only exacerbate the region's already tense situation.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Defense Minister David Tonoyan, and representatives of the separatist regime held a "meeting" on August 30 in Karabakh to discuss security issues.
Nikol Pashinyan and the head of the separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan visited military units. They took part in the opening ceremony of a new food system for soldiers of the separatist regime.
So, where did the Armenian authorities find financial resources for such cases during the pandemic?
The day before, head of the Prosperous Armenia party Gagik Tsarukyan said that people were in the abyss because of the economic crisis and the epidemic: "The financial crisis and epidemic made it impossible for the nation to pay off bank loans, feed their children or heal their parents." Anarchy and corruption reign in the Armenian defense system.
According to information leaked to the Armenian media, the National Security Service has launched criminal cases against several officials of the Ministry of Defense. They are accused of embezzlement of public funds and fraud. In May-June 2019, an open tender was announced for the repair work in the Armenian military units. The winner company, colluding with the Ministry of Defense officials, did not complete the proper job. As a result, state funds for 150 million drams (312 thousand 410 US dollars) were appropriated. There are a considerable number of similar facts.
Is Armenia, gripped by anarchy and corruption, capable of keeping Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions under occupation independently?! Of course, no! The occupying country draws inspiration and financial resources from the co-chairs, mediators of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. Odds are, part of the funds Yerevan sends to support the separatists. Chain of participants by their actions prolongs the status quo, delaying the negotiation process. That has been going on for years. The instability and endless hesitation of the current Armenian authorities in one direction or the other, depending on the circumstances, gave rise to distrust of the separatists of Nagorno-Karabakh in them. The accusations against ex-presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan only fuel this mistrust.
By holding various events in the occupied Khankendi, the authorities in Yerevan want to show that, allegedly, they control the situation. But all these attempts are futile and, of course, laughable. Everyone knows very well that Armenia is a slave country, and Russia essentially controls the situation. After the major events in May 2018, when new forces came to power in Armenia on the revolution's crest, the Kremlin's trust in official Yerevan was shaken. And it has not been restored to this day. In order to becalm Moscow, separatists in the occupied Karabakh are increasingly repeating the need to popularize the Russian language and strengthen "historical ties" with Russia.
The action is ruled by the head of the separatist regime Arayik Harutyunyan and Samvel Babayan, who served time for arms smuggling. Such attempts are presented as a desire to strengthen ties with the Karabakh Armenians living in Russia. In the occupied Karabakh, it is planned to increase teaching hours of the Russian language; Arayik Harutyunyan ordered to disseminate all information in Russian.
In the next five years, it is planned to expand relations between the separatist regime in Karabakh and Russia. In a word, the process of Russification of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh begins. Samvel Babayan has already proposed to transfer Nagorno-Karabakh under the mandate of Russia. It is not unthinkable that a new plan is brewing, including the Russification of Armenians living in Azerbaijan's occupied territories. The results of the current propaganda will become evident in five years. The question is, are we ready for this ?!