You're playing with fire! It's time for the Armenian opposition to open its eyes

Those seeking to occupy Nikol Pashinyan's chair are fussing, making noise, stamping their feet, waving their arms, forgetting to ask themselves the most important question: will Baku talk to me? Anyone who considers this question to be secondary will greatly regret that he did not ask himself in time. Because Armenia's future directly depends on what kind of relations it will have with Azerbaijan. And this is all the more important in the context of a crumbling world order.

Do Robert Kocharyan and Samvel Karapetyan (other small things don't count) realize that they will have to deal with Baku? And not with the participation of a support group represented by the powers, as once upon a time, but one-on-one.

Let's start with Kocharyan. This figure aspires to power without thinking about the consequences for Armenia. Kocharyan is considered a war criminal in Azerbaijan, and a criminal case has been opened against him. And the Azerbaijani side does not care that it will be the "choice of the Armenian people." In 1998, Kocharyan was already the "choice" of the Armenian people, and then he also broke through to power to stop the attempts of the suddenly enlightened Ter-Petrosyan to fix what he had done. Now Kocharyan is going to the polls under the slogan of correcting what Pashinyan "did". Namely, the annulment of the peace process, the rejection of the Washington agreements and the return to the agenda of the "Karabakh issue," which is deadly for Armenia.

Of course, we cannot tell the Armenian people who to vote for. But we can describe in general terms what awaits Armenia if Robert Kocharyan becomes its first person. She is waiting for a return to isolation, the curtailment of all cooperation projects that are currently being discussed between Baku and the current government of Armenia. Baku will not deal with a war criminal, a person who was directly involved in inciting separatism, ethnic cleansing and occupation of Azerbaijani territories. Figures like Kocharyan must become a thing of the past if Armenia expects to stay on its feet in the current realities. She will succeed only if she holds on to Azerbaijan. But he won't shake her hand if the separatist kodla returns to power. That's out of the question.

Now about Samvel Karapetyan. This figure took up the matter even more fundamentally than Kocharyan. Kocharyan is just a boy compared to this Russian billionaire, as he does not have the means to buy votes and associates with foreign surnames. However, Kocharyan has something that Karapetyan does not and will not have: he has the constitutional right to run for prime minister, but Karapetyan, with all his billions, does not. Armenians will be very lucky if Karapetyan does not end up in power, because if he comes and attempts to implement his so-called "election program", Armenia is highly likely to face a war with Azerbaijan, and this war will definitely be the last.

Karapetyan has no right to be elected Prime Minister or President of Armenia, as he has dual citizenship and has not lived in the country for the period required by law. Unlike Ruben Vardanyan, who managed to make a fuss and renounce his Russian citizenship, Karapetyan believes that his billions will solve everything. The barrier in the form of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia does not stop the billionaire. He continues to spend huge amounts of money on organizing a pompous campaign and forming an equally pompous team, which Kocharyan never dreamed of.

Karapetyan, like other opponents of Pashinyan, go to the polls with promises to nullify everything that has been done by the current government and start building relations with neighbors from scratch - on Armenian terms. In this regard, the Russian billionaire, counting on Moscow's support, is no different from the separatist Kocharyan. His "6 promises for lasting peace" and the team that will implement them have been published online. Both are very remarkable.

On Wednesday, the Strong Armenia party, whose candidate for prime minister is Samvel Karapetyan, staged a pompous presentation of its security program with the pompous title "Strong World". The billionaire's entire campaign is marked by pomp. At the presentation, it was stated that "Samvel Karapetyan promises to return all (Armenians to Karabakh - ed.). The billionaire's nephew Narek Karapetyan promised large investments on behalf of his uncle, which, they say, will bring prosperity to Armenians, since "historically, the path from East to West ran through Armenia."

Well, and the most interesting thing: "The army lost the war because of a weak leader. We have a historic opportunity to change the realities."

It is clear that Karapetyan's team definitely does not ask themselves the question of relations with Azerbaijan, counting on something and someone. Everyone knows that the route from East to West will pass through Armenia only with Baku's permission. How is Karapetyan going to get it by threatening Azerbaijan with war? The statements made at the odious presentation contain an undisguised threat to the territorial integrity of a neighboring country. Peace on the terms of the Armenian side is absolutely excluded. Yerevan failed to achieve it even during the years of occupation. Moreover, one should not promise something like this to the Armenian society today. Moreover, if today, thanks to Nikol Pashinyan's reasonable policy, Azerbaijan takes into account the interests of its neighbors in the peace process, these concessions may be curtailed in the future. Because ideally, Armenia should have been severely punished for its crimes, rather than receiving Azerbaijani gasoline and transit through the Azerbaijani borders. And Karapetyan's pompous team can play out.

Let's take a look at the so-called "6 promises of Samvel Karapetyan for a strong peace," which would be more correctly called "6 promises for a new war."

The billionaire promises to establish a "strong peace secured by several guarantors" and build a strong army for which (with his own money?) It will acquire the best and most modern equipment, including 10,000 drones, special air defense and border protection systems. He also promises to personally invest in the defense industry. All this is in order to use the very "historical opportunity to change realities" by enlisting external support.

Why does Karapetyan need "several guarantors of a strong peace"? Currently, the peace process is proceeding without external interference and pressure, and its guarantors are only Azerbaijan and Armenia themselves. The United States does not play the role of a guarantor. It will be very difficult for the revanchists to find guarantors who would help return the situation to the days before September 27, 2020. For thirty years, the Armenian side had as many as three guarantors in the person of the strongest powers, but this did not save it from defeat. In today's geopolitical situation, none of the former guarantors of Armenian interests will be harnessing Yerevan against Baku. Even Russia, whose creation is Karapetyan and Kocharyan. External players are busy, let's say, on other fronts. Each of them already has their own unsolvable tasks, why do they need someone else's?

Now let's see who the Russian billionaire has acquired to add weight and pomp to his security team. Kocharyan nervously smokes on the sidelines. He can't do that. No matter how much he and the Karabakh clan stole during their time in Armenia, they are far from the capitals of the Karapetyan family.

Karapetyan bought himself an air defense adviser in the person of Israeli (!) retired Brigadier General Zvik Khaimovich. Khaimovich, as reported on the website of "Strong Armenia", is a former commander of the Israeli Air Defense Army. He has more than thirty years of experience in the aerospace and defense industries. During his service in the Air Force, he held a number of positions: Commander of the Air Defense School Command post, Head of the TRADOC (Training and Doctrine) Department of the Air Defense Division, Commander of the Active Defense Wing and the Air Defense wing. And that's not all. The Israeli has professional experience in the development and implementation of new systems and technologies, such as "Iron Dome", "Arrow 3", "David's Sling", "Concept of an unmanned aerial vehicle", etc.

There is now talk in Armenia that Khaimovich will take the place of defense minister in Karapetyan's government. How this figure ended up in the Armenian revenge team is anyone's guess. So far, the Armenians have not been able to involve Israeli specialists in their provocations. Judging by the reaction of the audience at the presentation in Yerevan, it can be seen that such an acquisition came as a big surprise to the billionaire's audience. Khaimovich himself said at the event that a few months ago "he met with this strong team and, seeing its potential and ambitions, immediately agreed to join.".. Yes, it was impossible not to notice the presence of the Russian billionaire's "potential". An offer was made to Khaimovich, who inspired him to take up the response to Azerbaijan with "innovative approaches."

A Greek specialist, Efthimis Turtidis, was bought to give advice on special forces. He is a former fighter of the Greek special forces, a former officer of the National Intelligence Directorate of the Turkish Coast Guard, an international master of modern defense tactics, head of the Department of Security, Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Military Affairs at the University of Progressive Studies of Greece. The founder of the structured methodology of self-defense and controlled intervention "System of directed reactive control" (DRCS), according to the website of the Karapetyan party. He has conducted training courses in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. At the presentation, the Greek praised the "courage" of men and women defending the border every day, and talked other nonsense.

And then there's Michael Darbinyan, a foreign policy adviser from the United States. He was a diplomat, then he joined American and European companies dealing with security and defense issues. He managed to work in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as an analyst for the HALO Trust organization, known for its intelligence and provocative activities. And now he works as a risk and security consultant for a reputable European company.

It is noteworthy that Karapetyan did not include any of the figures living in Armenia in his security team. Probably to give her extra weight. Even Artur Avanesyan, a war criminal, separatist and "medal-bearing" participant in the occupation war, now lives in Canada. It is he who is tasked with leading the gang.

And again, I would like to ask: what are the revanchists counting on and who are they trying to deceive? By fooling the voters with foreign names and loud regalia, promising milk rivers and jelly shores, one can get a temporary effect in the form of a short-term outbreak of former Armenian hopes. No amount of money and no foreign names will help the Armenians return to Karabakh on their own terms, and no previous experience of foreign specialists will help to reintroduce the Karabakh issue to the world agenda. Their promises to do this are dictated only by high fees, and not by knowledge of the realities. If they had been guided by reality, many of the nonsense voiced at the presentation of the Karapetyan party would not have been voiced.

Yes, Karapetyan's investments can turn it into an isolated tiny piece of land, crammed with modern weapons and militarized to the extreme. Why not? But how long the Armenian statehood will last after that is a big question.