Armenia Has Done Everything Possible to End Military Operations, Pashinyan Tells Antonio Guterres

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the latter's initiative. This was reported by the government's press service.

Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia highly appreciates the Secretary-General's ongoing attention to peace and security in the South Caucasus. He presented the tense situation created due to provocations from Azerbaijan towards the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, noting that these actions were taken contrary to the Secretary-General's call for a global ceasefire during the pandemic.

“I assure you, Armenia has done everything possible to stop military operations and to reduce the tension in the situation,” stated Nikol Pashinyan.

Referring to the violations of agreements reached regarding the cessation of hostilities by Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Pashinyan added that we are witnessing contradictory statements and actions from Azerbaijan's military-political leadership during this period.

“We understand that there is a serious internal situation in Azerbaijan. But we cannot become a hostage to the trap set by President Aliyev. The hatred spread against Armenians and the threat of war have created an illusion of military superiority, which is now dissipating. We are not confident whether Azerbaijan's leadership has the capacity or willingness to maintain the ceasefire and prevent provocative rhetoric,” said Nikol Pashinyan.

According to the official statement, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Armenia's commitment to peaceful resolution, emphasizing that in the current situation, it is critically important to expand the monitoring capabilities of the OSCE and to implement existing agreements on this issue.

“It is necessary for the Azerbaijani authorities to publicly reject the use or threat of force. The Azerbaijani leadership must accept that peaceful negotiations have no alternative,” said the head of the Armenian government.

The UN Secretary-General expressed concern about the tense situation in the region, emphasizing the importance of taking immediate steps to de-escalate the tension, including implementing agreements aimed at strengthening the ceasefire regime. Antonio Guterres reaffirmed his support for the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group.