Russia should give a clear assessment of the statements of an Azerbaijani army general and the president of the country threatening the Armenian people with an “inevitable tragedy", Russian military analyst Boris Dzherelievsky says in an new article published by Voennoe Obozrenie.

Тhe statement by Aliyev on the seizure of Yerevan and Zangezur is unprecedented, the expert says.

Aliyev had on February 8 delivered threats against Armenia, claiming that "Yerevan Khanate and Zangezur are Azerbaijan’s historic lands." Later, he said said a big part of the territory of present-day Armenia “is the historical Azerbaijani land.”

And the development of this topic by high-ranking Azerbaijani officials suggests, according to him, that this is not a random rhetoric, but a kind of “trend.”

“What is happening in the region is not limited to the specifics of only the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations,” Dzherelievsky says.

“All this is directly related to the position and interests of Turkey, which is the main patron of Azerbaijan, and Russia, an ally of Armenia.

“It is extremely difficult to assume that the provocative statements of Aliyev and other representatives of the Azerbaijani leadership are made without the consent and approval of Ankara.