If, at some point, things get out of hand, it won’t really matter if the attacks of Azerbaijanis against Armenians in Moscow are organized or spontaneous. This is what Azerologist Angela Elibekova told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“We saw clashes during protests in different countries and the Azerbaijanis’ provocations. Even if those clashes and provocations were organized and guided by the Azerbaijani authorities to provoke such situations, if this was a planned policy, at some point, it can get out of hand for the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. This can lead to very tragic events in different cities and countries, and it will be very hard to control or stop everything,” she emphasized.

Asked what Armenia’s government can do to protect its citizens in other countries, particularly in Russia, Elibekova said the government needs to work actively with community organizations so that the Armenians of the particular country don’t give in to the Azerbaijanis’ provocations. She added that the government also needs to establish contacts with Azerbaijani community organizations as much as possible so that the so-called ‘ceasefire’ is established because no side wants growth of tension in a third country.

When told that perhaps the Azerbaijanis are making these provocations in order to try to take revenge for yet another defeat on the border with Armenia, the Azerologist said they are probably trying to get over it, but there have been cases when Armenians and Azerbaijanis have clashed in third countries in the past. “There is a myth that Armenians and Azerbaijanis live in solidarity outside of Armenia and Azerbaijan. This is not really the case because there are clashes during protests and even in daily life. However, to this day, those conflicts were local. Now we see a rising wave that needs to be stopped. If we don’t fight against this, the conflict can become much more dangerous,” she said.