ACNIS Director: Baku is playing "the Karabakh card" with Ankara's help to demonstrate its special position to the U.S.

Baku is playing "the Karabakh card" with Ankara's help to demonstrate its special position to the United States, Manvel Sargsyan, Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, has told ArmInfo.   

"There is a cause-and-effect link between the escalation on the line of contact and the visits of Ilham Aliyev and Recep Erdogan to Washington. This has been ripening for a long time, given the criticism against Aliyev, the recent recognition of the NKR independence by one more U.S. state, etc.," he says.   

The analyst thinks the Azerbaijani president decided to escalate the situation around the Karabakh conflict to demonstrate his own capacities.  
"If the local conflict develops into a large-scale war, everything related to the foreign policy in Azerbaijan will be over and Aliyev's presidency will be over, too. I think he realizes this perfectly and will make the relevant conclusions," the analyst says.    

On April 1 night, the Azerbaijani army attacked the positions of the NKR Defense Army along the entire line of contact, using artillery, armored vehicles and air force. The adversary targeted also the populated areas and civil facilities. Fierce battles are still going on along the line of contact. The Armenian Air Defense Forces shot down 2 Azerbaijani military helicopters, 2 drones, and destroyed 3 battle tanks.