Azerbaijan May Have Further Plans, Continuing Its Aspirations Towards the Sovereign Territory of Armenia: Mirzoyan

During his participation in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave an interview to the Turkish television channel TRT World. He addressed several issues of Armenia's foreign policy, including relations with the USA and the EU, the security situation in the South Caucasus, the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations, and key issues in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“Let’s also talk about Azerbaijan. You have had meetings over the past few months, we could say over the years. How do you assess the prospects for peace, real peace, a complete resolution, not a ceasefire? Understandably, it still implies a long way, but what phase have you reached in the diplomatic front?”

“Indeed, we are discussing not a ceasefire with Azerbaijan, but a process to achieve peace. We are negotiating on the draft of a peace treaty, and there are also other platforms for discussion. Meetings have taken place at the level of the leaders of the countries, and negotiations are ongoing between the foreign ministers. We have been able to agree on many matters, but there are key, very important issues where the positions of the parties are still far apart. I would like to mention a few of the most important ones.”

“Firstly, the issue of ensuring territorial integrity, recognition of borders, and the process of further delimitation. Both countries signed and ratified a document in 1991 recognizing each other's territorial integrity and borders. This is the Alma-Ata Declaration. Without going into too much detail, I just note that this is the document under which the twelve republics of the USSR accepted that, firstly, the USSR ceased to exist, and secondly, that the administrative boundaries between them are recognized as interstate, international borders. Armenia and Azerbaijan were among those republics. During the recent negotiations, the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration, its principles, particularly in Prague in 2022, subsequently in Sochi, Brussels, and on other occasions. Thus, the two countries have reaffirmed that they recognize each other's territorial integrity and agreed to carry out the process of further delimitation based on the Alma-Ata Declaration and the 1991 delimitation.”

“However, now when we want to refer in the peace treaty to the Alma-Ata Declaration, mentioning what I just described, nothing more, we see Azerbaijan’s reluctance to sign such a document; they simply remove that reference, that section from the text. This raises at least questions among Armenian diplomats, as there are doubts that after the crimes that occurred in our region, particularly the violent displacement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to their homeland, Azerbaijan may have further plans, continuing its aspirations towards the sovereign territory of Armenia. To avoid such scenarios or misunderstandings, if that is a misunderstanding, Azerbaijan could simply sign the text I mentioned and ratify it.”

“There have been many platforms that have tried to bring Armenia and Azerbaijan to the negotiating table: Georgia, Russia, Europe have attempted to do so. I understand that there has been animosity between the two countries for a long time; therefore, it would be naive or overly optimistic to think that diplomacy can immediately contribute to the elimination of hostility and constructive discussions. Nevertheless, which platforms do you consider most suitable for constructive discussions?”

“The short answer is all platforms. The only problem, at least from my personal impression, is the lack of political will on the other side to conclude a peace agreement.”

“Have you discussed with Turkey the relations with Azerbaijan? Has Turkey ever tried to mediate or at least bring the parties together on certain issues?”

“Yes, we have seen several such attempts. With all due respect, our response has been that for mediation efforts, and this does not apply only to Turkey but to all other actors, we need to see that the possible mediator's positions and intentions are fully balanced, entirely neutral. We can say, at least the perception is such that Azerbaijan's and Turkey's positions are identical, which usually does not create a conducive environment for mediation. Nevertheless, we have presented our perceptions, and constructive discussions are also unfolding on this issue.”

During the interview, Mirzoyan also spoke about the idea of EU membership and the expansion of allies, as well as Armenian-Turkish relations.