Armen Grigoryan on Relations with Turkey, Probability of New War, and Border Delimitation

All positive signals directed from Yerevan to Ankara have been public. In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, commented on a recent statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, which indicated that positive signals have been received from the Armenian leadership.

“The positive signals have been public, and in almost all government meetings over the past month, the Prime Minister has publicly discussed relations with Turkey, and those are the positive signals he means. The only agenda for Armenian-Turkish relations is the normalization of relations, and we have yet to start communication and discussions regarding the establishment of relations,” Grigoryan noted.

President Erdoğan has not yet made any public announcement about being ready to abandon his long-standing preconditions.

According to Grigoryan, discussions with the Turkish side will reveal what agendas and issues have the potential for resolution or do not. The Secretary of the Security Council is confident that after “football diplomacy,” many things have changed in the region, but everything will be clearer when discussions begin.

Grigoryan stated that voters in the extraordinary parliamentary elections have also voted for his team to open a peaceful era. He acknowledged that it will not be easy, but they will work towards that goal, although the President of Azerbaijan will periodically try to torpedo that process with his statements.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev has recently deemed discussions on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as hopeless. Furthermore, Aliyev has threatened, saying, “Don’t provoke us; otherwise, we will present territorial claims to Armenia.” Responding to Aliyev’s statements, Armen Grigoryan noted that there is confusion in Azerbaijan regarding the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh issue has never been a territorial issue; it has been a matter of self-determination, meaning that the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh wanted to self-determine and exercised their right to self-determination. It is clear that the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh is unresolved and needs a long-term solution; this is not only said by Armenia but also by the international community, including the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Grigoryan emphasized.

Is it possible for Azerbaijan to engage in new military aggression if Armenia continues to raise the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh? According to Grigoryan, it is difficult to assess Azerbaijan’s actions, but it is certain that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status is unresolved, and there is a need to find a solution.

Grigoryan also addressed the issue of Azerbaijani military personnel currently located in Armenian sovereign territory. He noted that provocations have been occurring recently, and taking these circumstances into account, the Armenian authorities wish to begin the processes of delimitation and demarcation as soon as possible.

“There is a necessity for Azerbaijani forces to withdraw from Armenian sovereign territory, and for us to start the delimitation and demarcation process, which will also enable stability in that direction,” Grigoryan stated.

The Secretary of the Security Council mentioned that this process is based on Soviet Union maps, as no other maps can be used because Azerbaijan did not exist before the USSR.

In response to the question of how possible it is to establish peace with Azerbaijan, Grigoryan said that peace also means security. According to him, voters in the extraordinary parliamentary elections voted for his team to open a peaceful era. He reiterated that it will not be easy, but they will work towards that direction, even though the President of Azerbaijan will periodically attempt to torpedo that process.

“There will be many difficulties; we are aware of them,” emphasized the Secretary of the Security Council.

In his opinion, one of the important steps in this direction is the trilateral meetings at the level of deputy prime ministers, where numerous issues are discussed. Grigoryan added that Armenia would have the opportunity to use Azerbaijani territory to connect with Russia, Asia, and China for its economic development. In return, Armenia would allow Azerbaijan to use its roads to connect to Nakhchivan and Turkey.