Political scientist: Armenia, France artificially inflating ‘crisis’ in Karabakh

Armenia and France are artificially inflating the ‘crisis’ in the Karabakh region, where the Armenian population lives, to ensure their own political interests, head of the information and analytical portal PolitRus, Russian political scientist Vitaly Arkov told Report.

The political scientist called groundless statements about a “large-scale humanitarian catastrophe” in Karabakh.

“It is obvious to everyone that there is nothing like this in Karabakh. There are only minor difficulties caused by the exclusively destructive position of Yerevan, which refuses to use the Aghdam-Khankandi road as an additional transport artery for supplying Karabakh,” he said.

Arkov noted that Armenia took a similar destructive position on the issue of transit of goods along the Lachin road.

“Yerevan demands the dismantling of the Lachin checkpoint [established by Azerbaijan on the border with Armenia. However, these demands have no legal basis, since the checkpoint was built in the Lachin district, on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan. In addition, the Azerbaijani side has the right to know who enters the country and what kind of goods are imported,” he said.

According to the political scientist, the residents of Karabakh don’t need any help from France. Arkov reminded that France and Armenia refuse to grant Azerbaijan the right to inspect the cargo that they are trying to bring to Karabakh under the guise of “humanitarian aid.”

“The goal of Paris is obvious - to turn the South Caucasus into its neo-colony. Armenia has long voluntarily become a colony of France. To achieve its goal, Paris will stop at nothing, even the possibility of inciting a new war between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Arkov noted.

At the same time, the political scientist is sure that France’s attempts to expand its influence in the South Caucasus region are doomed to failure.

“But after a series of defeats in the world, Emmanuel Macron is also facing a shameful fiasco in the South Caucasus,” he said.