Armenia-EU Agreement, Russia-Ukraine War, Lachin Corridor: Joint Press Conference of Pashinyan and Scholz

Today, the most pressing issue is that since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan has closed the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the outside world, which has resulted in 120,000 residents being effectively blockaded. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"Azerbaijan's actions represent a gross violation of the obligations undertaken by the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and are part of Azerbaijan's extensive and systematic policy aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is also important to emphasize that we believe an international fact-finding mission being sent to the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh could be very significant for the international community's more comprehensive understanding of the situation," Pashinyan stated.

Pashinyan highlighted that on February 22, the International Court of Justice issued a legally binding ruling against Azerbaijan, obligating it to take all necessary measures to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo in both directions along the Lachin corridor. "We urge our international partners to take effective steps to ensure the immediate implementation of the Court's ruling by Azerbaijan. We emphasize Germany's clear position as a country that supports democracy, human rights, and the preservation of universal values, which will aid Armenia's efforts for stability and peace in the South Caucasus," Pashinyan said.

In response to a question about EU-Armenia cooperation, Nikol Pashinyan stated, "The presence of the EU observation mission is regulated by mutual official letters. We also have an agreement that the necessary discussions and negotiations should take place regarding the contract that governs this presence and mission. I believe we may soon sign the document regulating the presence of the monitoring mission when we negotiate and reach a consensus on the formulations of already agreed agreements."

Regarding the question of circumventing Western sanctions against Russia, Pashinyan noted, "As a democratic country where transparency is very important, we have stated and continue to state that we are transparent regarding the imposition of sanctions against Russia."

"Logistic chains are changing, and relations are evolving—not only have imports from the EU to Armenia increased, but exports from Armenia to the EU have also seen an increase. This is also due to our interest in establishing relations with the EU. As for discussions regarding circumvention of sanctions, I must emphasize that these are no more than discussions," Pashinyan declared, citing an example where last spring a Western owner took over an aircraft operated by a Russian airline from the Republic of Armenia.

"I think this is the most direct and clear example, when we have shown that respecting all our relations and partners necessitates the legality of actions and operations. I do not believe that a country with such an incident can be accused of any shadow circumstances," he stated, adding that it is also necessary to closely monitor events to assist the private sector, so that they can engage in activities that do not jeopardize the Armenian side’s relations with any of its partners.

During the joint press conference, a question was also raised regarding Armenia's abstention from voting on the Ukraine resolution last week and why the country does not fully condemn Russia's offensive war. "Our state is doing everything it can to appear and demonstrate itself as a responsible member of the international community in international platforms. We are making, I believe, very visible steps in this direction, and our principled position will continue to be maintained," Pashinyan said.