If Mr. Lavrov Has Forgotten, He Should Be Reminded: Vahagn Aleksanyan

In fact, I am also surprised by Mr. Lavrov's statements, especially the fact that he has not mentioned the opening of the Russian-Turkish monitoring center in Aghdam with the participation of Russia and Azerbaijan. If Mr. Lavrov has forgotten, it should be reminded that Turkey is also a NATO member state and is essentially the second state involved. In this context, it is very strange that Lavrov continues to say that Russian military forces are the guarantors of peace in the region, because at least the facts suggest otherwise.

This was stated by Vahagn Aleksanyan, a member of the “Civil Contract” faction of the National Assembly, in a conversation with MediaHub, commenting on the statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that he hopes Yerevan realizes that deepening cooperation with NATO leads to loss of sovereignty.

“Even being endowed with a peacekeeping mandate, the troops have practically not been able to ensure peace in Nagorno-Karabakh. We have repeatedly talked about the unfulfilled obligations of the CSTO; we have raised these issues, but they do not respond,” he said.

Speaking about the statement by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jayhun Bayramov that the issue of returning eight villages is raised at all meetings between Azerbaijan and Armenia, he responded: “There must be delimitation and demarcation, and the issue of separate Azerbaijani enclaves cannot be discussed. If such a question is on the table, then the issues of both Azerbaijani and Armenian enclaves should be discussed. In this context, discussions can take place, and I see nothing wrong with that. It is very important that it be clarified in all our discourse that the issue is not just about Azerbaijani enclaves, but rather about the issue of Azerbaijani and Armenian enclaves.”

In response to the comment that the year has ended and the much-discussed peace treaty has not yet been signed and the question of why Azerbaijan is hesitating to sign it, the deputy replied that this question should be answered by Azerbaijani officials. “But our position remains the same: we want to sign a peace treaty, and the sooner, the better. If we had reached an agreement on all principles, it would have already been signed. In fact, I do not want to delve into this area and say, for example, what points we are struggling to agree on; I will leave that to our colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But I can say that we are making every effort to ensure that the peace treaty is signed,” Aleksanyan concluded.