Mirzoyan on Aliyev's Statements

We are consistent in our agenda for establishing peace. This was stated by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in an interview with "Azatutyun". Here is the interview below.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has announced that their proposal to start work on a peace agreement has not yet received a response from the Armenian side. How do you comment on this?

Both publicly, in international formats, and in direct communications with the Azerbaijani side, the Armenian side has repeatedly stated at the highest and senior levels that we are consistent in our agenda for establishing peace, and that we do not consider anything unacceptable in Azerbaijan's proposals regarding a future peace agreement, naturally complementing those proposals with our own ideas.

We have conveyed our proposals regarding the agenda of comprehensive peace negotiations to Azerbaijan through the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, yet we have not heard any official response to date. This means that contrary to the claims of the Azerbaijani president, Armenia has not only not rejected the proposal for negotiations on a peace agreement but has also responded positively and is awaiting Azerbaijan's response.

Moreover, we have proposed to Azerbaijan to start consultations among Foreign Ministers on the topic of the peace agreement, but to date, we have not received a response.

The Republic of Armenia reaffirms its readiness to begin consultations on the peace agreement as soon as possible.

President Aliyev also noted that one and a half years after the statement of November 9, 2020, it has not been fully implemented, referencing particularly the issue of unblocking regional transport communications. What do you have to say regarding this?

Yes, the tripartite statement of November 9 has not yet been fully implemented. Azerbaijan continues to illegally hold Armenian military captives and civilians, violating not only the obligations it undertook under the tripartite statement but also international humanitarian law, using them as hostages and objects of bargaining and human trafficking. Not only Armenia but the entire civilized world is presenting this demand to Azerbaijan.

Moreover, Azerbaijan essentially denies one of the fundamental provisions of the tripartite statement by claiming that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist and there is no issue regarding Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the president of Azerbaijan confirmed the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh entity with his signature under the tripartite statement. As long as the tripartite statement exists, the existence of this entity cannot be denied.

Another gross violation of the November 9 tripartite statement is the fact that Azerbaijani armed forces, violating the first point of that statement from 2020, invaded the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh on March 24 of this year and continue to remain there to this day.

As for unblocking regional transport communications, we have repeatedly stated that Armenia itself is highly interested in the success of this process. The process would reach its conclusion much faster if it were not for the continuous baseless statements of the Azerbaijani authorities regarding the extraterritorial corridor, which have no relation to the realities and agreements reached in the presence of several international partners.

Nonetheless, for the sake of fairness, it should be noted that discussions on the topic of unblocking are actually taking place in a constructive atmosphere, and I hope that it will not be derailed due to incomprehensible political machinations and will soon conclude successfully.