What we are observing now - both in the zone under the temporary control of the so-called Russian ‘peacekeeping’ contingent and along the conditional border - is worrying in the extreme, political scientist Orkhan Amashov told News.Az.

He noted that there is a risk of escalation, conditioned by the continuous presence of the illegal Armenian armed formations in Karabakh, the change in the upper crust of the illegal separatist regime in Khankendi, with ‘radicals’ usurping power, and Pashinyan’s own behaviour, which currently seems to favour unseemly populism, aimed at pandering to revanchist sentiments so as to ensure his man’s victory in the forthcoming mayoral elections in Yerevan.

“So long as the impasse around the Lachin Road is left unresolved and the Aghdam-Khankendi Road remains unopened, tensions will continue to escalate,” Amashov said.

“My hunch is that there is a clear understanding on how to proceed; soon after the Aghdam Road is open, there could be some intensification of movement along the Lachin Road. The latter is no longer a corridor, and Azerbaijan should thus apply a full customs regime. The statements coming from the EU and Washington indicate this is the correct trajectory. Of course, the question is whether we are going to witness a phase of military action on the ground prior to a breakthrough,” the political analyst added.

News.Az