The Armenian newspaper Aravot, known for its sympathy toward the Karapetyan camp, has attempted to stir up another “Azerbaijani threat” narrative by presenting a four-year-old incident as a recent Azerbaijani advance near the Hakari Bridge. The newspaper published a report claiming that Azerbaijanis had allegedly “tried to advance in the area of the Hakari Bridge but were stopped by Armenian border guards.” The supposed “sensation” was attributed to Suren Amaryan, deputy head of Armenia’s Tegh community, who reportedly provided the information to journalists. The Tegh community administration subsequently refuted the report, officially stating that no such incident had taken place recently.
Moreover, the administration clarified that the incident described by Amaryan had occurred four years ago. In other words, Aravot simply dredged up an old incident and attempted to present it as a current Azerbaijani military advance. The situation became even more revealing when Amaryan said that the journalists who questioned him had allegedly introduced themselves as representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Thus, what was initially presented as a new “Azerbaijani advance” turned out to be an old incident combined with questionable circumstances surrounding how the information was obtained. The episode once again demonstrates how Armenia’s opposition media continue to exploit the Azerbaijani “threat” narrative in search of sensational headlines and political ammunition. And there is an obvious question that the authors of this latest “sensation” apparently failed to ask: why would Azerbaijan need to “advance” at all when Baku and Yerevan are pursuing a peace agenda, discussing the opening of communications and taking practical steps toward normalization?
There is simply no logic in presenting a four-year-old incident as evidence of a supposed current Azerbaijani advance at a time when the two countries are working toward peace. Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
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