Azerbaijan is Trying to Stalemate the Process, Says Pashinyan

In Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been instructed to begin preparatory work for a future peace treaty and to undertake negotiations and discussions in this regard. Following this announcement, criticism was directed at us, claiming that we have effectively abandoned the idea of conducting negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this during his speech in the National Assembly on April 13, according to Armenpress.

“The reality is somewhat different. We have not abandoned that idea, but you also know that due to the events in Ukraine, relations within the co-chairmanship are extremely tense. In fact, this tension began back in 2011, due to the events in Syria, which inevitably impacted our regional developments. And now, considering this tension, we cannot passively wait for the actions of the co-chairmanship, on the other hand, the start of bilateral discussions does not in any way impede the involvement of the co-chairmanship in the process,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

Pashinyan noted that the preparatory process needs to start immediately, and one must hope that the foreign ministries of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be able to carry out the assigned tasks within the appropriate timeframe. According to the Prime Minister, it is important to note that today the entire international community is showing a willingness to support the process and this opportunity should truly be utilized.

“Although it is clearly visible that there is immediate involvement of international partners on a number of issues on the peace agenda. You know that there is a trilateral working group operating on the issue of reopening regional communications between Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, co-chaired by the deputy prime ministers. This does not prevent us from discussing this matter with our partners in the EU, the USA, France, Iran, Georgia, and also during our recent phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, we agreed to intensify the work of the trilateral working group,” the head of the government mentioned.

Pashinyan noted that Azerbaijan is also trying to bring the process to a stalemate here, seeking to turn our interest in reopening roads into a corridor discussion. “But as I have repeatedly stated, this approach is absolutely unacceptable for us. It is worth noting that Azerbaijan is trying to implement the reopening of regional communications agenda in such a way that it does not overcome Armenia's blockade, but rather deepens it. Or it would serve as a new justification for aggressive policies against Armenia. This is why we must demonstrate maximum flexibility on this issue while clearly defending our principled positions and the territorial integrity of Armenia,” the Prime Minister concluded.