Matthew Bryza: nationalists in Armenia do not want peace with Azerbaijan

Nationalists in Armenia are currently making every possible effort to block any direction of the post-war Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement. Speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza shared his thoughts on what's going on in the region.

First of all, Matthew Bryza rejected the hoaxes persistently promoted by Yerevan and the nationalist forces of the Armenian diaspora about the "blockade" of Karabakh Armenians in the Karabakh economic region of Azerbaijan. "Karabakh is not blockaded," he said, comparing the situation in the area with the situation in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which has not been linked to the rest of Azerbaijan by a corridor.

"In the former case, the same transit routes are available to Nakhchivan as in the past. But as agreed by Armenia and Azerbaijan in their 10 November 2020 ceasefire statement, all transit routes in the region are reopened and a corridor is to be established linking Nakhchivan to the rest of Azerbaijan," the U.S. diplomat recalled.

The former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan stressed that the opening of communications will benefit Armenia, but its authorities are still unwilling to move towards stabilizing the region. "The opening of all communications will also help Armenia reintegrate into the regional economy. Yerevan has hesitated to implement these provisions," he said.

"Just as it refuses to withdraw the last of its troops from Karabakh, because hardline nationalist political forces in Armenia do not want the conflict to be settled and instead insist on reopening the question of Karabakh's status," Matthew Bryza explained.

The diplomat noted that this is the motive that makes Yerevan block any peace initiatives of Baku. "In particular, this leads them to reject humanitarian aid deliveries to Karabakh from Agdam," the former U.S. ambassador concluded.