Part 2
By alleging endless Armenian provocations, immediately denied by Yerevan but without the Armenian response having the slightest effect on the world capitals, Baku achieves the paralysis of the international community and the neutralization of Armenian diplomacy. Hence the declarations of Jean-Yves Le Drian on neutrality and the empty official communiqués on the end of hostilities without identifying who the aggressor is.
Gaidz Minassian
Since Armenians’ 2020 defeat in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), an existential crisis has erupted within the public discourse. The shockwave produced by this trying time has compelled Armenians to ask hard questions and face these issues.
With the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia raises many questions that can be organized into seven points: impunity, neutrality, legality, security, unity, reality, and sovereignty.
Neutrality
Neutrality is so precious to the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, that he felt the full brunt of Armenians’ anger during the 44-day war, when he called on France to maintain “its neutrality” during the Azerbaijani aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh. Neutrality is at worst, an act of corruption, and at best it is institutionalized cynicism––a cowardice of the one who expresses it and the encouragement to the aggressor to act as he pleases. It is an act of connivance with the executioner, a pass for him to carry out his crime with complete impunity. For nearly three decades, Azerbaijan’s aggressive diplomacy has focused on distilling the impression that Armenia bears more responsibility for the worsening situation on the front line. To propagate the idea of shared responsibility is thus to create a smokescreen in the heads of the world’s chancelleries, in order to suggest that in this conflict, there is neither an aggressor nor a victim. By alleging endless Armenian provocations, immediately denied by Yerevan but without the Armenian response having the slightest effect on the world capitals, Baku achieves the paralysis of the international community and the neutralization of Armenian diplomacy. Hence the declarations of Jean-Yves Le Drian on neutrality and the empty official communiqués on the end of hostilities without identifying who the aggressor is.