Armenia's Demands from CSTO Remain Unchanged: Armen Grigoryan

As the date of the meeting in Sochi became known and the package was being shaped, Yerevan tried to show support for the so-called Russian approaches to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. We also made an effort to have the Russian proposals package included in the statement, which also mentioned the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The Russian side had previously promised us that this would happen, but it did not. This was stated by the Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, in an interview with Factor.am.

“By the way, we also wanted it to be clearly stated in terms of the deployment of peacekeepers that they would be stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, but it turned out that this did not find a place in the final statement. We will continue to work with the Russian Federation and try to achieve results in this direction.

The Prime Minister announced that we are ready to sign the term for the peacekeepers' stay, whether it be a postponement of 15, 20, or any other year. It seems that the Russian side understands that it’s worth working in this direction and trying to find solutions,” said the Secretary of the Security Council.

In response to the question of whether Russia has promised to continue working with Azerbaijan regarding the status of Nagorno-Karabakh to implement point 15 of the Russian proposals, Grigoryan stated that negotiations are not about promises, but rather discussions on approaches. “Armenia has presented its approaches and expects the Russian side to try to work to make them a reality. The Russian side has publicly stated that it has good proposals for the Armenian side, and the Republic of Armenia fully supports that agenda. Here, it is the task of the Russian Federation to make those proposals a reality. It is very important to understand that proposals are one thing, and making them a reality is another,” emphasized Armen Grigoryan.

The Secretary of the Security Council mentioned that in the upcoming meeting in Washington between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Armenia's response to the five points recently presented by Azerbaijan regarding the peace treaty will be discussed. “Azerbaijan has presented a more elaborated version based on those points, and we have responded to that; we will soon discuss that version,” he said.

When asked whether Azerbaijan has set a condition for Armenia to agree to leave Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan, the Secretary of the Security Council said that the document does not mention Nagorno-Karabakh. “We can read and speculate that there might be some reference to Karabakh, but it is not clear, and that is why Armenia will try to clarify this issue in the negotiations,” Grigoryan noted.

According to the Secretary of the Security Council, professional work has been conducted based on the five points presented by Azerbaijan for the expanded elements of the peace treaty to bring it closer to the framework of a peace treaty. “A significant amount of work had to be done on the version presented to us, which we have completed. At this moment, we are ready to continue the negotiations for the peace treaty,” he stated.

Armen Grigoryan said that Armenia's demand from the CSTO continues to be for assistance in removing the Azerbaijani military from the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. “We will continue to work and see what the CSTO can do,” the Secretary of the Security Council said.

Grigoryan emphasized that Armenia will never provide a corridor. “We knew that one of the reasons for the recent aggression was that Armenia refuses to provide a corridor and they are trying to exert military pressure on Armenia to make such steps. But as we have stated, any deal based on corridor logic is a red line for us, and we will not take such a step, no matter how much pressure is applied to us. Therefore, we are working with other partners to help us solve problems in such a situation. By the way, we raise these issues publicly or privately before our partners in Russia,” Grigoryan concluded, adding that he would be satisfied with Russia's response if the Azerbaijani troops were not in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia.