Armenians are worried about a new war with Azerbaijan despite peace talks

Nina Shahverdyan and her family were among the 100 thousand Armenians who left Nagorno-Karabakh in September.

Explaining that they spent 30 hours on the road, Shahverdyan says, “People died of heart attacks. Some died because they were too old to experience this pain. Children were crying.”

Azerbaijan regained the territory it lost in the war that broke out after the collapse of the Soviet Union from Nagorno-Karabakh within a few days, during the conflicts that flared up again in September.

Although Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says that a peace agreement is close, Armenians are afraid of losing more.

They see Aliyev’s previous definition of Armenia as “west of Azerbaijan” as a serious threat.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last month that Azerbaijan intends to ‘start a new and major war’.

On the other hand, as a sign of goodwill, he agreed to return four empty villages on the border.

Although Azerbaijan said that these fears were unfounded, Aliyev requested permission from Armenia to pass the railway from the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to his country.

While Armenia wants to maintain control over this route, Azerbaijan has previously threatened to “seize by force” this corridor.

According to the news by Grigor Atanesian and Tim Whewell from BBC, some civilians in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, receive military training through volunteer organizations.

Nina is also among those who learned how to use a gun.

“It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, you have to learn how to protect yourself in a country like Armenia, where all borders can be attacked,” she says.

Before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, there were conflicts on the border of Armenia.

Cities within Armenia were bombarded for the first time in 2022, and Azeri forces entered Armenian territory and remained there. 300 soldiers died in two days. In February this year, four Armenian soldiers lost their lives as a result of fire.

According to public opinion polls, Armenians see national security and border issues as their biggest problems. Russia, which is seen as the guarantor of Armenia’s security, remained neutral and did not intervene in the last crisis, fueling this feeling.

That’s why Armenia is turning more towards the West.

While exercises were being held with the USA, guarantees were received from France for the training of Armenian soldiers.

The Armenian government is also considering applying for EU membership.

However, Azerbaijan and Russia see these steps as a threat.

Villages along the Armenian border are worried about being vulnerable to attack; However, Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasizes that “Azerbaijan should not be worried and this should actually be seen as an opportunity for trade.”

Foreign policy expert Zaur Shiriyev thinks that the West Azerbaijan discourse is a tactical maneuver for Armenians to give up their claims to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Shiriyev also expresses the opinion that “It is important not to exaggerate the peace agreement.”