Aliyev Warns Of ‘New Military Confrontation’ With Armenia | Speech follows France’s rejection of Baku’s ‘unacceptable’ demands, as Azeri president accused Paris of ‘emboldening’ Armenia, which “wants to sign a peace agreement without constitutional changes — keeping the Nagorno-Karabakh issue alive”

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1. French FM Jean-Noël Barrot:

   > “Azerbaijan is now demanding a revision of the Armenian constitution. This new precondition is unacceptable”.

   France also called for the release of all Armenian PoW’s unlawfully held in Baku, becoming the second country to publicly do so after the US, piling further pressure on the Aliyev regime:

   > “France is closely following the situation of all arbitrarily detained individuals and is calling for their release as part of the ongoing normalization process”.

   Azerbaijani response:

   > “We demand France to cease its steps that do not serve peace and undermine stability in the region”.

   The ‘demands’ Baku has issued for the signing of a peace treaty:

   **Constitutional change:**

   > Baku says that Armenia must ‘remove a preamble in its constitution that refers to what amounts to territorial claims on Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast’.

   **Dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group:**

   > Azerbaijan also considers that the continued existence of the OSCE Minsk Group following a signed peace agreement could put the issue of Karabakh back on the table.

   Meanwhile, Azerbaijan accused Armenia of cross-border fire at least 23 times during March. So far this month, Baku has accused Armenia of opening fire on its positions at least six times.

   Armenia has refuted the claims as misinformation.

   As a response to the tensions, in a first, Armenia held joint military drills with Iran over 9-10 April, a key regional ally that has repeatedly warned that any attempt at forcing Armenia to accept Baku’s ‘demands’, including the opening of the so-called ‘Zangezur corridor’, through force is a ‘redline’ for them.

   Iran state media:

   > The current Iran-Armenia military border drill is meant to communicate that Tehran’s red line against a Turanist corridor has not changed post-Syria, and, should the Turks go for it, “the Caucasus will become an arena for regional geopolitical settlements”.

   Iran official statement:

   > Iran on joint exercise with Armenia:

   > – aims to enhance border security, readiness to counter all potential threats and promote military cooperation

   > – demonstrates mutual commitment to strategic ties and regonal peace

   Iran remains the only country that has intervened in favour of Armenia post-Velvet, deploying 50,000 troops along the border amidst the September 2022 clashes.

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