«No Mountainous Karabakh Exists». Debate Between Mher Grigoryan and Azerbaijani Prime Minister

During an online meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the CIS, a debate erupted between Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov. The Azerbaijani representative requested the floor in the concluding part of the meeting to respond to Grigoryan's main speech, which had previously referenced Asadov's main remarks.

Asadov reiterated Azerbaijan's traditional claims, labeling Armenian servicemen in Azerbaijan as saboteurs. He also asserted that no Mountainous Karabakh exists, but rather only the Azerbaijani economic region of Karabakh.

Requesting the floor, Grigoryan noted that Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, has fully complied with the provisions of the trilateral statements dated November 9, 2020, and January 11, 2021. He called on Azerbaijan to abandon aggressive rhetoric, reiterating a previously stated thesis that the resolution of the Karabakh conflict is only possible through peaceful means.

The issue of Armenian prisoners continues to be one of the most acute problems following the 44-day war in Artsakh. This is compounded by Baku's refusal to specify their exact number, including a group of 62 Armenian volunteers from Shirak province, who were captured a month after the signing of the statement in November during clashes near the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher. Incidentally, it was these individuals that Asadov referred to, labeling the volunteers as saboteurs. Azerbaijan has returned several of them in exchange for three packages of maps of mined fields.