Response of the Armenian Foreign Ministry to Bayramov's Statements

The press secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vahan Hunanyan, has responded to the questions of the Armenpress news agency regarding the statements made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. Below is the full Q&A:

– The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister, speaking about the process of demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, has claimed again that the Armenian side is imposing preconditions, emphasizing that Armenia has no legal, political, or moral right to set any conditions regarding the demarcation of borders. How do you comment on this statement?

– The leaders of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan signed a statement on November 26, 2021, in Sochi, which is public and available online. It is clearly stated in that statement that the leaders of the three countries agreed to take steps to enhance the level of stability and security along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and to move the process towards the establishment of a bilateral commission for delimitation and demarcation. This implies that prior to the activities of the delimitation and demarcation commission, agreements must be reached and implemented regarding steps directed towards enhancing security along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. This is also logical because it is hard to imagine conducting delimitation work on a border where violations of the ceasefire occur daily. The Republic of Armenia, genuinely interested in the full implementation of agreements, has articulated its views on their realization. The Azerbaijani side has not provided any substantive response but has rejected these views, meanwhile failing to propose any options for implementing the agreements made by the leaders of the three countries. Referring to Armenia's proposals as 'conditions' or 'preconditions' and then making moral, political, or legal assessments regarding them has no logical connection to the aforementioned process.

– The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister also mentioned that Armenia has disrupted the work of the trilateral working group. What do you say regarding this statement?

– If the reference is made to the trilateral working group concerning the opening of regional communications, it is amusingly coincidental that on the same day, during a government session held that morning, Prime Minister Pashinyan announced that Armenia is in the practical phase of restoring the Yeraskh-Julfa-Orbuda-Megeran-Horadiz railway and that the Armenian co-chair of the working group, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, had held substantive discussions on this topic with his Russian counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Ovechkin, and the General Director of Russian Railways, Oleg Belozyorov, on February 2 in Yerevan. Evaluating the situation, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated that the documentation of the first results of the trilateral working group's activities seems very close. In this context, the statements of the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister are at least strange, and we hope that they do not signify a withdrawal from the agreements reached in Brussels regarding the railway's restart. I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia reaffirms its commitment to the agreements reached, which the Prime Minister has publicly stated several times. It should also be noted that Armenia has made proposals to the Azerbaijani side concerning the opening of roadways. To this day, there has been no response from the Azerbaijani side regarding these proposals. Armenia is ready to start the implementation of these proposals as soon as possible.