Armenia No Longer Has Resources to Ensure the Security and Rights of the People of Artsakh - Aghajanyan

The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly of Armenia, Eduard Aghajanyan, considers the points agreed upon by Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev in Prague as significant progress. He regards the recognition of territorial integrity as a crucial agreement, marking the beginning of the negotiation process.

“I want to emphasize the importance of this. Without this important and principled point, it would not have been possible to engage in any substantive discussion regarding the peace treaty. This sets the stage for this process, which is good news,” said the member of the ruling party.

Essentially, Armenia and Azerbaijan affirmed their recognition of each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty upon entering the CIS in 1991 through the Alma-Ata Declaration during the meeting in Prague. With the mediation of Macron and Charles Michel, Armenia has agreed to the EU's deployment of a civilian mission along the border with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has agreed to cooperate with this mission to the extent that it is related.

The mission will begin its work in October for a period of two months. The objective of the mission will be to build trust and support the border commissions through its reports. According to Mr. Aghajanyan, the need for such a mission arose after Azerbaijan repeatedly provoked the borders of Armenia and made unfounded accusations against Armenia of escalation: “This is perhaps the best tool to prevent similar situations and to prove that the Armenian side has never engaged in provocative actions,” said the Armenian parliamentary official.

As for why the EU mission will be short-term, Eduard Aghajanyan noted that if necessary, the duration can be extended based on the situation and assessments provided by this European working group. Their mandate includes familiarization with the created border situation and recording that the armed forces of Azerbaijan have violated the sovereign territory of Armenia and have infiltrated into it. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, recently stated that the armed forces of Azerbaijan have entered the sovereign territory of Armenia.

“This working group comes to practically document this on the ground and to engage in discussions regarding potential mechanisms with the Armenian authorities to exclude further escalation. Naturally, by documenting the facts that the armed forces of Azerbaijan have invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia, practical steps should follow, which will result in their armed forces returning to their initial positions. Our expectations are at least as minimal as this from this mission and these processes,” he added.

In response to a question for Mr. Aghajanyan regarding the potential recognition of territorial integrity and a signed agreement, but when will Azerbaijan leave the sovereign territories of Armenia, he stated that the processes of delimitation and demarcation could take decades. Before starting these processes, is Azerbaijan planning to withdraw its troops from Armenian territories?

The Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly emphasizes that there is a certain understanding between Armenia and the US that alongside demarcation and delimitation, the drafting of a peace treaty should proceed, which should be followed by the process of the withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed forces from Armenian territory.

Addressing the issue of Artsakh, Aghajanyan stated, “Unfortunately, as a result of the 44-day war over Artsakh, Armenia no longer has the capacity and resources to ensure the security and rights of the people of Artsakh. You are aware that a crucial point of the trilateral statement of the November 9 agreement is the expansion of the Russian peacekeeping mission in the areas where our compatriots from Artsakh continue to live, and we believe that in this matter we should rely on the toolkit of the international community.”