"If the 'peace agenda' fails, even Pashinyan's supporters will accept the failure" - Evstratov

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, speaking in the parliament of the republic, stated the need to end the Karabakh movement for the sake of establishing peace with Azerbaijan and ensuring the future of Armenian statehood, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports.

Anton Evstratov, associate professor at the Russian-Armenian University, believes that the reason for this and other similar statements by Pashinyan is his desire to make peace with Baku at any cost. “If the “peace agenda” does not end with the signing of an agreement, even Pashinyan’s supporters will decide that he has completely failed as head of government. It will turn out that all the concessions, losses, and unpopular decisions of recent years were in vain and only complicated the country’s situation. All this will make sense only if Yerevan and Baku make peace,” Evstratov said.

In his opinion, it is difficult to say how many people support Pashinyan’s policies. The support that Pashinyan's team had at the beginning of its leadership of the country, it no longer has and most likely will not have," the expert believes. At the same time, Yevstratov does not believe that Azerbaijan will agree to sign a peace treaty with Armenia in the foreseeable future. Firstly, Baku does not suffer in any way from the lack of an agreement. Secondly, the Azerbaijani authorities see Pashinyan's willingness to make concessions as an opportunity to further strengthen their position.