Aliyev signals support for Pashinyan amid Armenia’s election campaign

(Horizon Weekly / YEREVAN) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev openly weighed into Armenia’s internal political climate by threatening that if forces not favourable to Azerbaijan come to power in Armenia, “it is the Armenian people who will suffer.”

Speaking during a meeting in occupied Kovsakan, Aliyev repeated Baku’s aggressive wartime rhetoric, boasting that Azerbaijan had “liberated” the territories “through blood and sacrifice” while praising the country’s military and political leadership.

The statement amounted to direct political backing for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government ahead of Armenia’s elections. By portraying alternative political forces in Armenia as dangerous and undesirable, Aliyev effectively endorsed the continuation of the current authorities in Yerevan, whose “peace agenda” has aligned with many of Baku’s strategic objectives since the fall of Artsakh.

Aliyev’s remarks also underscored Azerbaijan’s continuing attempts to shape Armenia’s internal political discourse through threats and intimidation. The Azerbaijani leader is no longer merely commenting on Armenia’s affairs, but openly signalling which Armenian political forces are acceptable to Baku and which are not.