"Baku has no political will to settle relations" - Armenian Foreign Minister
Ararat Mirzoyan on settlement
“The rhetoric we witnessed in the latest interview of the Azerbaijani president does not allow us to lower our vigilance for a second. We have heard outright territorial claims to Armenia’s sovereign territories,” the Armenian Foreign Minister said, referring to a possible escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that Ilham Aliyev “distorts” the names of cities and regions of Armenia and calls the entire territory of the country “Western Azerbaijan”. All this convinces the Minister that “Baku has no political will to settle relations”.
He believes that there is constantly a possibility of a new escalation, especially this year, as elections in the U.S. and European Parliament are to come. At the same time, he does not notice a weakening of international interest in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process. He believes that a “settlement using the language of threats” is unacceptable for international actors. He regards the position of partners in this regard as objective and balanced.
Summing up the results of 2023, the Foreign Minister talked about the peace treaty with Azerbaijan, border delimitation, opening of regional communications, normalization of relations with Turkey and other issues important to Armenia.
“Regression on substantive and key issues”
Commenting on the peace process with Azerbaijan, the Armenian Foreign Minister emphasized a noticeable regression on key issues. In the latest interview with Aliyev, he notices a step backward even from the preliminary text of the Azerbaijani proposal:
“The Azerbaijani president insisted that new borders should be drawn, or some pre-Soviet borders should be taken as a basis. No one has the authority to draw new borders. And we strongly adhere to the position that during the delimitation process the commissions of the two countries should reproduce the borders drawn on legal grounds, in the form in which they existed at the time of the collapse of the USSR.”
According to the Minister, the statements of the Azerbaijani President on unblocking regional transport by corridor logic do not contribute to the settlement of relations. That is, Armenia will provide roads with the loss of control over these territories. In the same vein, Mirzoyan regarded Aliyev’s words that the Azerbaijani Armed Forces will not leave the territories of Armenia, where they have advanced since 2021.
The Armenian Foreign Minister called the agreement reached with Azerbaijan on prisoner exchange in December last year a “positive event”. At the same time, he noted that “unfortunately, this constructive approach has not been continued.” According to the minister, a regression is observed both in the text of the peace treaty exchanged between the parties, and in Baku’s official position and refusal to hold summit meetings.
“It’s the substance of the negotiation that matters”
The journalists were interested in how Yerevan treats the proposal of direct negotiations without the participation of mediators. Mirzoyan considered this question “artificial”. He says that the negotiations that have taken place so far can also be considered direct and that different partners helped, organized meetings, but the parties by and large negotiated directly with each other:
“This issue is not fundamental for us, the content of the negotiations and the principles around which they should take place are fundamental.”
The Minister expressed the hope that “Azerbaijan will soon return to the constructive field and it will be possible to finalize the peace process started long ago”.
He said that he has not received a proposal for a meeting on the border, but if it is received, it will be considered. There is no agreement on a meeting at the level of foreign ministers or state leaders.
Maps of minefields will serve to build confidence
Mirzoyan emphasized that Yerevan is ready to take steps to strengthen confidence between Armenia and Azerbaijan. He recalled that maps of minefields – all the information available at the time – were given to the Azerbaijani side twice:
“However, we have periodically heard complaints that these maps are not very effective and do not reflect the exact location of the mines. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall that Azerbaijan itself started this process of mine clearance in the early 90s.”
At the same time, the minister said that now the relevant bodies in Armenia are working on collecting new information about the mines. He did not rule out that if they manage to obtain reliable information, it would also be provided to Baku.
No progress on normalization of relations with Turkey
According to Mirzoyan, the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey on normalization of relations between the two countries did not meet in 2023.
“No tangible progress on the settlement of relations without preconditions has been seen.”
He recalled that he himself and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with their Turkish counterparts during the year, which is a “positive basis”.
However, he noted that even the agreements reached earlier have not been fulfilled. In particular, he refers to the opening of the border by Turkey for representatives of third countries, which was agreed upon by the special representatives in July 2022.
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2023 results
