In Washington, Armenia conceded everything and gained nothing, except the prospect of a new war. This was stated by Dr. of Political Science at Stanford University, Arthur Khachikyan.
“Now we have become a card, much weaker than before, in the hands of great powers. And we may be dragged into a new regional war, while our chances of defending ourselves are diminishing,” he noted.
According to Khachikyan, the international press and leading Western experts, including John Mearsheimer and Jeffrey Sachs, as well as French and Iranian media, view the recent developments as a dangerous provocation that could draw Armenia into war or turn it into a staging ground against Iran.
“An American military base may appear on the Iranian border. Outlets such as the New York Post, Fox News, and others have written about this. This is an unprecedented situation: a coalition is taking shape — Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, and the United States — to which Armenia will be subordinated and used as a platform against Iran,” the political scientist said.
He stressed that Armenia is effectively losing its land border with Iran, which rules out the possibility of military supplies through this route. Moreover, the transfer of control over the corridor for 99 years looks like a colonial treaty. “Aliyev agreed to the presence of Russian peacekeepers for only 5 years. Why are we now agreeing — for an entire century? Such terms were used during colonization: let us recall the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, Hong Kong, which was taken from China for 150 years,” he emphasized.
Khachikyan believes that if the true aim were peace, Armenia could have signed a contract directly with a private company from the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, or another neutral country. In that case, the company would have been subject to Armenian sovereignty. “But today we are effectively transferring sovereignty to the United States. This means it will be Washington deciding who controls the corridor. And most likely, it will end up in the hands of Turkey and Azerbaijan,” the expert concluded.