Armenia's Foreign Ministry on Aliyev's Statements

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledges that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in his recent statements, candidly admits that claims regarding the so-called corridor have no relation to the tripartite declaration of November 9. In an interview with Armenpress, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan emphasized that the declaration makes mention of only one corridor – the Lachin corridor, which has been illegally blocked by Azerbaijan for over a month.

Hunanyan also pointed out that the Azerbaijani President inadvertently admits, through his recent statements, that Azerbaijan, by grossly violating its international obligations enshrined in the tripartite declaration dated November 9, is deliberately keeping 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh and Nagorno-Karabakh under blockade for over a month, pushing them towards humanitarian disaster.

In an interview with Azerbaijani media, President Aliyev stated that anyone who does not wish to live in Nagorno-Karabakh as a citizen of Azerbaijan may leave, as the way is open for them. How do you comment on this? The Azerbaijani President, through this statement, inadvertently recognizes that Azerbaijan is violating its responsibilities recognized in the tripartite declaration dated November 9 and is keeping the 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh and Nagorno-Karabakh under deliberate blockade, leading them to humanitarian disaster.

Azerbaijan admits that the ultimate goal of its actions is to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh and deprive its Armenian population of the opportunity to live in their own homeland. In this context, we call on international partners to compel Azerbaijan to cease the blockade of the Lachin corridor through clear actions and to save the Armenian population of Artsakh from the impending disaster. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh must not be deprived of their home or their natural right to live in their homeland.

In the same interview, while again discussing the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” Aliyev admitted that this term does not exist in the November 9 tripartite declaration. At the same time, he threatened that “the corridor will exist – whether Armenia wants it or not.” What can you say about this? Armenia has repeatedly stated that it is interested in opening all transport and economic infrastructures in the region in accordance with the November 9 declaration. We are ready to implement this in the shortest possible time within the framework of agreements reached regarding respect for the sovereignty of states and the jurisdiction over roads. At the same time, Armenia will never agree to the provision of an extraterritorial corridor.

It is welcome that the Azerbaijani leadership finally acknowledges that the claims regarding the so-called corridor have no relation to the November 9 tripartite declaration. The declaration mentions only one corridor - the Lachin corridor, which has been illegally blocked by Azerbaijan for over a month.

Furthermore, threats to open a corridor by force again clearly demonstrate Azerbaijan's violation of the principle of non-use of force or threats of force, which is key to international law, as well as the absolute disregard of official Baku for agreements reached with the participation of international mediators.

It should be noted once again that the actions, warmongering rhetoric, and maximalist approaches of the Azerbaijani leadership seriously jeopardize the possibility of achieving peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

In the interview, Ilham Aliyev also addressed the EU observation mission, expressing dissatisfaction with the potential deployment of a new observation mission in Armenia. First and foremost, we would like to emphasize that Armenia highly appreciates the role of the EU mission that concluded on December 19, 2022, in strengthening stability and security in the region and preventing new aggressions against Armenia. We have also expressed our readiness to continue mutually beneficial cooperation with the EU regarding the implementation of a new observation mission in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia. We find Azerbaijan's dissatisfaction incomprehensible; after all, we are talking about the implementation of a mission on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

It seems that the Azerbaijani side fears that the new EU mission could hinder their new aggression against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, the threat of which remains very high.

Does this mean that the negotiations can be considered over? Absolutely not, in December 2022, we submitted our proposals to the Azerbaijani side for the regulation of relations or, as is commonly referred to, the draft peace agreement and are now awaiting their response.