Is joint living of Azerbaijanis and Armenians possible?

Baku/18.08.22/Turan: Is reconciliation and joint living of Armenians and Azerbaijanis possible? What is needed for this and who does it depend on?  

Shahin Hajiyev, editor of the Turan agency, and Boris Navasardyan, president of the Yerevan Press Club,  discussed this issue in the “Difficult Question” program.

Question: The  joint living of Azerbaijanis and Armenians today is perceived very ambiguously. Calls for the normalization of relations have not been heard for the first time and are not perceived both in Armenia and in Azerbaijan. At the same time, there are talks and even concrete steps are being taken towards the normalization of relations between Armenians and Turks. Is a similar process between Azerbaijanis and Armenians possible? What  should  be done for this? How realistic is this?

Answer: It is difficult to draw direct parallels in Turkish-Armenian and Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, especially today. Because there are two different basic situations here. Armenians have been living in a part of Turkey (in Istanbul) for many years and, in general, have found a form of living with the preservation of cultural and linguistic identity, in the form of a community that is built into the system of Turkish society.

There is no such background in Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. Since the end of the 80s, there is no coexistence with self-respect, with respect for the rights of Azerbaijanis and Armenians, in any territory. That is, the territories that passed under the control of the Armenian armed forces were cleared of Azerbaijanis and vice versa.

Naturally, 30 years of  such experience is a serious obstacle to the settlement of the conflict.  Without resolving this issue, it is very difficult to talk about a peace treaty.

Question: We heard the statement of the heads of the Security Council of Armenia, and then the Prime Minister, that the issue of security guarantees for the Armenians of Karabakh which will determine their status is important for Armenia. How was this statement perceived by the Armenian society, i.e. there are talks about the fact that Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Does the Armenian society agree with such a  wording of the question?

Answer: It is difficult to speak about the unequivocal attitude of the Armenian society to this statement. There are our compatriots who believe that it is unacceptable to talk about the presence of "Nagorno-Karabakh" as part of Azerbaijan or any vertical subordination of the administration of "Nagorno-Karabakh" to Baku.

Part of society believes that in the negotiation process one can proceed from the following formulation of the question - first, discuss what models of living for Armenians in "Nagorno-Karabakh" can be, if Azerbaijan's sovereignty is restored there and, depending on this, talk about the status (the status can be very different) .

Question: What steps by Baku would add optimism to the Armenian side?

Answer: Specific solutions are not offered or discussed, since Azerbaijan did not agree to the formula proposed by Pashinyan. But different options were considered in the expert circles of Armenia. This is the temporary presence of international institutions that will guarantee the agreements reached. It can also be a form of self-government, which is also included in the basis of the model itself ...