Armenia's MFA Responds to Azerbaijan's False Claims

The spokesperson for Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ani Badalyan, responded to statements made by the spokesperson of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ayhan Hacizada, during an interview with Armenpress. Badalyan addressed Hacizada's false claims regarding alleged ceasefire violations and Armenia's alleged failure to fulfill its obligations.

In response to the accusation from the Azerbaijani MFA spokesperson, who blamed Armenia for ceasefire violations following a statement from the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Badalyan stated: "The Government of the Republic of Armenia has announced at the highest level that it has no intention or goal to escalate the situation and continues to act on the principles of the peace agenda. The Armenian army is a subordinate body to the Government and operates within this framework. The Ministry of Defense of Armenia has declared its readiness to investigate the facts supporting the Azerbaijani MOD's claims of ceasefire violations, provided they are conveyed to Armenia. It should be noted that, until now, Azerbaijan has not provided any factual data to Armenia regarding ceasefire violations by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia. Azerbaijan has also not responded to the proposal made by Armenia on June 22, 2024, to create a joint mechanism for investigating incidents of ceasefire violations and/or related information."

There was also a question regarding Hacizada's claim that Armenia had proposed complex and practically unfeasible initiatives. Badalyan responded, "Armenia and Azerbaijan have officially announced the completion of negotiations on the draft agreement on the 'Establishment of Peace and Diplomatic Relations'. Logically, the agreed document should be signed, and the Republic of Armenia proposes to begin consultations on the signing location and timeframe. It is evident that the proposed process is neither complex nor unfeasible."

Badalyan further mentioned that Armenia has expressed its intention at the highest level to consider the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group. Armenia simply wants to ensure that this signifies a de facto and de jure end to the conflict, and not a transfer of it onto the territory of Armenia under the so-called discourse of 'Western Azerbaijan'.

"Regarding the Constitution of Armenia, the Constitutional Court's decision of September 26, 2024, made it clear that the Constitution does not contain any territorial claims against any country. On the contrary, the Republic of Armenia believes that it is the Constitution of Azerbaijan that includes territorial claims against Armenia. However, we believe that the agreed text of the Peace Agreement addresses this issue. Why? Because the agreed text states that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity within the borders of the USSR republics, have no territorial claims against each other, and commit to not present such claims in the future. Additionally, the text of the Agreement emphasizes that the parties cannot invoke their domestic legislation to justify non-compliance with the provisions of the Agreement. Let me also remind that according to Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, in case of a contradiction between ratified international treaties and the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, the provisions of the international treaty shall prevail. What I mean is that the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia cannot be invoked as an obstacle to the signing of the Peace Agreement. On the contrary, even addressing concerns related to the Constitution is most effectively achieved by signing the Peace Agreement," she stated.

In response to Azerbaijan's allegations that Armenia has not fulfilled its obligations to reopen regional communications, Badalyan remarked: "Armenia has no unilateral obligations regarding the opening of regional economic and transport communications. The separate agenda of establishing transport links between Azerbaijan's western regions and Nakhchivan is part of a larger agenda of unblocking regional transport and economic connections, which also includes the unblocking of the Republic of Armenia. Secondly, Armenia has proposed to launch the first phase of the Zangelan-Meghri-Ortubad-Yeghsakh railway cargo transit. This is the shortest railway link possible between Zangelan and Ortubad. As for the roads, we have the roads we have and the terrain we have, and blaming us for being a mountainous country is, at least, not serious."

Badalyan also addressed Azerbaijan's ongoing accusations against Armenia regarding militarization and the deployment of strike weapons in border areas, which are framed as justification for claims that Armenia is preparing for a forceful scenario. She emphasized, "A forceful scenario for what resolution? What issue on the agenda of the Republic of Armenia suggests a forceful scenario? Such comments might only arise from the over 200 square kilometers of occupied territories, which the Republic of Armenia has explicitly stated does not set the issue for resolution through force, because the delimitation process and now the agreed text of the Peace Agreement have created all possible opportunities for addressing this issue peacefully. Armenia can only prepare for a forceful scenario to confront potential aggression, and this is the legitimate right of any country, and all Armenia's actions in border areas fall strictly within a defensive logic."

"It is also worth recalling that back in 2021, Armenia proposed the mirror withdrawal of forces from border areas, to which Azerbaijan did not agree. In this context, the militarization of the region can be concerning; that is why Armenia has proposed creating a mutual control mechanism for weapons to Azerbaijan, to which Azerbaijan has not responded positively to date. The Republic of Armenia is not being militarized but is implementing a strategy for transforming its army, which is a publicly available document. Once again, I reaffirm the commitment of the Republic of Armenia to the peace agenda and call on Azerbaijan to commence consultations on the signing location and timeframe of the agreed text of the 'Establishment of Peace and Diplomatic Relations' agreement," she concluded.