Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Statements Raise Doubts: Kostanyan

Ultimately, Azerbaijan must respond to whether they are interested in measures to strengthen trust and establish peace. This was stated by Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanyan during a broadcast on Public Television.

“The fact that 23 captives remain in Azerbaijan, along with other factors such as rhetoric, are perceived negatively by us, and these actions by the Azerbaijani leadership are subject to our strict evaluations. Nevertheless, the Armenian government continues to take targeted steps toward building peace and stability in the South Caucasus, particularly in regulating relations with Azerbaijan.

Regarding the resolution of humanitarian issues, this has been a constant topic during the negotiation process over the years, as well as in the meetings between the leaders of the two countries. Unlike the Azerbaijani side, which has continuously violated these agreements—such as those reached in Brussels—the Armenian side is interested in solving humanitarian issues, and we have been doing our homework in this direction. As you mentioned, new maps have been created; at the same time, we believe that all remaining humanitarian issues that are currently in the Azerbaijani sphere should also receive their resolutions,” he said.

The deputy foreign minister also pointed out another problem that both countries have raised in the last two years: the issue of clarifying the fate of missing individuals. “In this regard, we have also done some work internally to understand what information can be gathered. The issue of missing persons is important and, indeed, painful for the Armenian side because since the 90s, there are a total of 993 cases associated with missing persons, forced disappearances related to the 44-day war, the clarification of fates is of great importance for the Republic of Armenia and their families,” Kostanyan noted.

In response to the recent comments from Azerbaijan, the Deputy Foreign Minister states that the statements from Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry raise doubts about whether the Azerbaijani side is indeed interested in regulating relations and establishing peace, while confidence-building measures are of considerable importance on this path. “Ultimately, Azerbaijan must answer whether they are interested in confidence-building measures and establishing peace because the statements that come from Baku are quite contradictory,” he stated.