Peace Agreement May Be Jeopardized Due to Azerbaijan, Mirzoyan

Ararat Mirzoyan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, has shared insights during an interview with Correio Braziliense, one of the major newspapers published in the capital of Brazil.

When asked about the conditions of the peace agreement with Azerbaijan and when it might be realized, Mirzoyan stated, "The peace agreement sounds very good, but in reality, we have only managed to finalize the draft of the agreement to date. It includes a preamble and 17 articles, and after lengthy negotiations, we were able to reach an agreement on the text. We have publicly announced Armenia's readiness to begin consultations with our Azerbaijani counterparts to determine the location and date of signing the peace agreement."

Unfortunately, he noted that what Armenia hears from the Azerbaijani side is, "We agree with the text, but that is not enough for a peace agreement. It is also necessary to discuss a series of preconditions at the negotiating table to make the signing of the peace agreement possible." These preconditions include constitutional changes in Armenia and restrictions on the arms and ammunition supplied to the Republic of Armenia.

Interestingly, alongside the negotiations over the peace agreement, Armenia has also presented other proposals to Azerbaijan that, in their belief, would be mutually beneficial, Mirzoyan added.

"For example, we proposed to create a bilateral mechanism for monitoring and verifying armaments. There has been no positive response from Azerbaijan. Last week, they made false accusations that the Armed Forces of Armenia violated the ceasefire regime in the border area. However, for instance, the European Union's monitoring mission, which observes the situation along the border, has not recorded any violations by Armenia," he explained. "We approached Azerbaijan demanding any evidence or data they might have regarding violations by our soldiers so that we could investigate them. Another of our proposals was the establishment of a bilateral verification mechanism for border incidents."

Moreover, Mirzoyan emphasized that if a peace agreement is signed and relations with Azerbaijan are established, this alone would not be sufficient. There could also be other mutually advantageous programs for both countries. "We proposed to open communication and transportation infrastructure connections. Azerbaijan needs to utilize our railroads to connect two parts of their country. They could also benefit from the railway infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia to connect with Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, and so forth. Based on the preliminary exchange of our proposals and ideas, we could gain reciprocal access to Azerbaijan's railway infrastructure. However, again, we did not receive a positive response in this regard either. Yes, we have agreed on the draft of the agreement, but Azerbaijan is presenting preconditions and is not responding positively to our other proposals that could bring real and lasting peace in the South Caucasus," he remarked.

Ararat Mirzoyan also mentioned, "I can assure the whole world and Azerbaijan that Armenia is fully committed to the peace agenda. We have no intention, no reason, and no motivation to start a new war or escalate the situation. There is good news: the completion of negotiations and the readiness of the peace agreement draft. However, there is also concerning news: yes, peace could be jeopardized due to Azerbaijan based on everything we hear from them."