Video: Pashinyan Responds to Aliyev's Threats - Full Speech

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan addressed the recent statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev during a government meeting.

According to the Prime Minister, "Ilham Aliyev's statements once again prove that the geopolitical ambitions of the Azerbaijani authorities continue to pose a threat to the security and stability of the South Caucasus and the broader region. This speech, filled with unfounded threats directed at the international community and targeted insults towards Armenia, where the Azerbaijani president attempts to blame Armenia and our government for not fulfilling agreements and commitments, suggests the exact opposite. Furthermore, Aliyev's statements came the day after a meeting of the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington, mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, concerning a potential peace treaty, on a day when delegations had not even returned to their capitals yet."

Pashinyan declared that the Azerbaijani leadership had grossly violated the written agreement recorded in the trilateral statement made in Sochi, which stipulates refraining from the use of force and threats of force. He noted that, contrary to the statements signed in Prague and Sochi, Aliyev is openly expressing aspirations over the sovereign territory of Armenia, using threatening rhetoric around several Armenian settlements and other names with the obvious intention of terrorizing the local population.

The Prime Minister pointed out that "the violations of agreements and statements accepted by Azerbaijan in trilateral and other formats are chronic in nature." He reminded those present that in December 2020, Azerbaijan illegally occupied the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, contrary to the trilateral statement of November 9. Azerbaijan also carried out similar occupations in March 2022, invading Parukh, in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh. "Azerbaijan violates the ceasefire almost daily along the contact line confirmed by the November 9, 2020 trilateral statement, while simultaneously declaring that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist. This claim constitutes a gross breach of the trilateral statement dated November 9, 2020, in which the name of Nagorno-Karabakh is mentioned four times in the document signed by Azerbaijan," he added.

According to Pashinyan, Azerbaijan has yet to take any steps toward initiating a visible dialogue with representatives of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian population for the international community, as it has committed to doing in various international platforms. "Aliyev not only threatens but is also preparing for the genocide of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. This intent is also expressed in the Azerbaijani president's comments regarding the timelines of the Russian peacekeeping forces' deployment in Nagorno-Karabakh, which, in turn, grossly violate at least three of the statements accepted in the trilateral format."