Armen Grigoryan on the Peace Agreement and Release of 32 Armenian Prisoners

The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, in response to the statements made by the President of Azerbaijan, said that the issue is not just the return of the Artsakh residents that has not been agreed upon, but there are also other issues at hand.

“There are other points that have not been finalized, and I believe that there will be an opportunity to search for solutions to all questions during the upcoming meeting of foreign ministers. Armenia is ready to seek and finalize solutions for the peace agreement. The final version is that Armenia has responded to the proposals, and I believe that it addresses certain issues,” he stated.

He added that “70 percent of the Peace Agreement has been agreed upon, and if there is political will, it can be signed in a very short period.”

“First and foremost, this is humanitarian, as humanitarian issues have been resolved, but this has also shown that there is an opportunity to reach an agreement. We believe this was a very positive and important step towards signing the peace agreement. This was the step that demonstrated that there is a desire to move forward with the logic of resolving issues, and the greatest opportunity to resolve issues is the peace treaty,” he stated. “The peace agreement is on our agenda, of course, December seems a bit challenging, but we are ready to sign the peace agreement before the end of December.”

When asked why they opted for bilateral negotiations despite earlier claims that Azerbaijan is the party violating agreements and that international guarantees are needed, Grigoryan replied that they have agreed to both bilateral and multilateral negotiations to achieve the signing of the peace treaty.

Armen Grigoryan also announced that no mediator has been involved in these negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In response to a question about why Azerbaijan agreed to exchange 32 prisoners for two servicemen, Grigoryan said it was a result of negotiations and agreements.