Tom de Waal, a leading expert on the Caucasus, Russia, and Eastern Europe, has stated that large-scale military action by Azerbaijan would be highly risky. Instead, Baku is more likely to resort to threats and limited military operations, as reported by "Azatutyun."

The expert addressed concerns that Azerbaijan might attempt to force Armenia into providing the so-called "Zangezur corridor" through military means, especially given Baku’s aggressive rhetoric.

Declassified U.S. State Department documents reveal that in the late 1990s, Robert Kocharyan and Heydar Aliyev privately discussed a territorial exchange—Meghri in exchange for Karabakh. However, no formal agreement was reached.

Commenting on how this revelation impacts current discussions on territorial concessions, de Waal stated: "Armenia has already lost Karabakh, so Syunik will not be up for trade."

He noted that Azerbaijan's position is quite clear: "We are not in a hurry. We have already obtained almost everything we wanted. A peace treaty would be good, but if we don’t get everything we want, we will wait."

Regarding his impressions from Yerevan, de Waal observed: "My impression is that Prime Minister Pashinyan is already in campaign mode. He is not planning to make further concessions. He feels he has made enough, and in my opinion, he is not ready to give more to Azerbaijan."

On January 31, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia had made clear proposals to Azerbaijan regarding the unblocking of regional transport routes and was awaiting a response. He suggested a cost-effective and realistic option: a railway connection from Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan via Meghri and, in the opposite direction, a railway link from Yeraskh to Nakhichevan through Meghri.