Secretary of State Blinken: Azerbaijan is preparing an invasion of Armenia

Azerbaijan is preparing an invasion of southern Armenia, which could take place in the coming weeks.

Source. This was stated by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in a conversation with a group of US congressmen, Politico reports.

According to the publication, Baku wants to lay a route to the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran.

In this regard, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has previously demanded that Armenia open the so-called Zangezur corridor, about 40 km long, through the Syunik region and threatened to resolve the issue by force if Armenia refuses.

In a conversation with Blinken on October 3, the lawmakers insisted that sanctions be imposed on Aliyev in response to the September 19-20 invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh. The secretary of state replied that the State Department was looking for ways to hold Azerbaijan accountable and had no plans to extend the document that allows the United States to provide military assistance to Baku.

The State Department refused to comment on Blinken's conversation with the congressmen, but emphasized its commitment to "Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and to resolving the conflict through "direct negotiations."

The conversation with Blinken was indirectly confirmed by New Jersey Senator Frank Pallone, who called for sanctions against Azerbaijan.

"Aliyev is moving forward with his goal of taking over southern Armenia. There is no doubt that his regime is inspired by the very minor consequences of the invasion of Karabakh," he tweeted on October 12.

The agreement to open transport routes to Nakhichevan, without mentioning specific routes, was laid down in the 2020 trilateral agreement, after the end of the second war in Karabakh.

Recently, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that he had not given a reason for either Turkey or Azerbaijan to use the terminology of the Zangezour Corridor.

"In Armenia, this is perceived as a territorial claim and a demand for an extraterritorial corridor. We have not made any promises to anyone in accordance with this terminology. Nor is it in the 2020 trilateral statement," he emphasized.

At the same time, during a meeting with Aliyev in late September, the Turkish president suggested that the corridor from Azerbaijan to the exclave could go through Iran if Armenia does not allow it to be built on its territory. Tehran has previously opposed the use of force against Yerevan to open the route through Armenian territory.