The Issue of Artsakh is Not a Territorial but a Legal Matter: Pashinyan

We have repeatedly expressed our willingness to start the process of a peace treaty. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during his speech in the National Assembly on April 13, according to Armenpress.

The Prime Minister informed that on March 10, one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group conveyed Azerbaijan's views on the fundamental principles of the peace treaty to Armenia. “The main principles are as follows: mutual recognition and respect for each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of internationally recognized borders, recognition of political independence, records of absence of territorial claims against each other, and recording of mutual obligations not to present such claims in the future; mutual obligations not to create threats of using force for each other’s security, territorial integrity, or political independence; not to undertake actions inconsistent with the goals of the UN; delimitation and demarcation of borders; establishment of diplomatic relations; unblocking of transport and other communications; creation of new communications; and cooperation in other areas of mutual interest. We have discussed these proposals operationally and recorded that there is nothing unacceptable for Armenia in them, especially since de jure, Armenia recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders back in 1992 by ratifying the agreement on the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and this recognition is still part of our domestic legislation,” Pashinyan stated.

He emphasized that Armenia has never had territorial claims against Azerbaijan, and the issue of Artsakh is not a territorial matter but a legal one. “And therefore, we have noted that the guarantees for the security of the Armenian population of Artsakh, the assurance of their rights and freedoms, and the clarification of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh are of fundamental importance for Armenia,” he mentioned.

According to the head of the Armenian government, with this addition to the agenda, Armenia is ready to start peace negotiations, and this position was recorded during the last meeting in Brussels. Pashinyan underscored the importance of noting a very significant nuance in this situation. “If previously we based our approach on the status of Artsakh, deriving security guarantees and rights from it, now we base it on security guarantees and rights, deriving the status from them. In other words, we note that the status is not a goal in the given situation but a means to ensure the security and rights of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” said the Armenian Prime Minister.