evidence: Some have speculated whether his statements imply a denial of Armenian claims to the villages in question, thereby suggesting they are Azerbaijani territory. A deeper apprehension is the potential concession of strategically significant roads to Azerbaijan. The villages are located along a main highway connecting Armenia to Georgia and the pipeline that supplies Armenia with natural gas from Russia. As Armenia’s formidable defensive line in the Tavush region faces dismantlement, there are fears of losing advantageous positions to Azerbaijani forces. [...] Currently, 31 settlements spanning across five regions of Armenia, totaling approximately 200 square kilometers, are under Azerbaijani occupation, with some falling under Azerbaijani control during the first Artsakh war in the 1990s and others seized during the Azerbaijani incursions of 2021-22.