Nikol Pashinyan to Voice Condition for Peace Agreement with Azerbaijan

A peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan is possible if both countries “without ambiguities and pitfalls” recognize each other’s territorial integrity, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament. According to the politician, Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and expects the same approach form Baku. “A peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will become real if both countries clearly, without ambiguities and pitfalls, recognize each other’s territorial integrity and agree to have no territorial claims in the future. I confirm that the Republic of Armenia fully recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and we expect Azerbaijan to do the same by recognizing the territory of the Armenian SSR as the Republic of Armenia,” TASS quoted Nikol Pashinyan. According to the Armenian Prime Minister, “it is very important to shape international mechanisms to guarantee a peace agreement, otherwise a new war or a new escalation may break out the next day after the signing of the agreement.” The Nagorno-Karabakh aggravation has been lasting since September 2020 after opening of regional hostilities between the military of Armenia and Azerbaijan. As a result, a tripartite statement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Hostilities have completely ceased in the conflict zone, and Russian peacekeepers have also been deployed along the contact line and in the Lachin corridor. Since early December 2022, the Armenian side has been talking about the actual blockade of the Lachin corridor in Karabakh by Azerbaijani activists resulted in a shortage of essential goods in Armenian settlements. Azerbaijan responds with accusations of smuggling weapons through the corridor. On April 7, President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nikol Pashinyan had a telephone conversation regarding the situation with Nagorno-Karabakh. Putin and Pashinyan reaffirmed the importance of implementing the 2020-2022 agreements between the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. We are talking about ensuring security on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as restoring Transcaucasus economic and transport ties. The leaders of the countries also touched upon drafting a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan and discussed topical issues of bilateral relations. On April 11, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported on a “relatively stable” situation on the border with Azerbaijan. Vedomosti