AZE.US
The appointment of Alen Simonyan as secretary of Armenia’s Security Council could shift the body’s priorities, with strengthening peace and developing pragmatic relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey likely to become key objectives, Azerbaijani political analyst Ilgar Velizade said.
Velizade, who heads the South Caucasus Political Scientists’ Club, made the remarks during an interview with the Daily Europe Online YouTube channel.
According to the analyst, it is too early to determine how the leadership change will affect negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, Simonyan’s public statements during his tenure as parliament speaker have recently been received positively in Azerbaijan.
“The appointment of a new head of this important institution could lead to a certain transformation of the Security Council’s role,” Velizade said. “Its primary function will remain unchanged, but greater emphasis could be placed on other issues.”
He argued that national security is not ensured solely through weapons, missiles and military infrastructure. Predictable relations and sustained dialogue with neighboring countries are equally important.
“For Armenia, security today depends on good relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, its two key neighbors,” Velizade said.
“If Armenia establishes predictable, effective and pragmatic relations with these countries, the risks to its security will decline.”
He described this as a universal principle of international relations, under which neighboring countries develop mutual security interests so that destabilizing the existing framework would harm all sides.
Velizade also said neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia is currently interested in another war. One of the new Security Council secretary’s main responsibilities, he argued, should therefore be helping make the peace process sustainable.
“Today, neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia is interested in war,” he said. “I believe Simonyan should work to ensure that peace becomes durable.”
Velizade added that maintaining dialogue despite serious disagreements is essential to effective foreign policy. Diplomats and political leaders must continue searching for compromise because military capabilities alone cannot guarantee lasting stability, he said.
Simonyan’s appointment could therefore give Armenia’s Security Council a more public and political role, while relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey may assume greater prominence on its agenda.
AZE.US