Armenia has no reason to violate ceasefire on border with Azerbaijan - FM
YEREVAN, March 21. /ARКА/. Armenia has no reason to violate the ceasefire on the border with Azerbaijan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said today.
"Our country has consistently advocated the creation of a mechanism to investigate such accusations, to which Azerbaijan has not yet responded," Mirzoyan said, speaking at the Rio Branco Diplomatic Institute in Brazil.
He noted that Armenia also presented constructive initiatives on mutual arms control and verification measures, but unfortunately, Azerbaijan has not responded to these proposals either.
Mirzoyan recalled that Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on the text of the peace treaty and the Armenian side is ready to sign it.
"The Republic of Armenia has the political will to sign it immediately and proposes to begin consultations with Azerbaijan as soon as possible to determine the place, time and other practical details of the official signing of this historic treaty," the Armenian minister said.
At the same time, he stated that despite significant progress in the negotiations, it should be noted that aggressive rhetoric from the Azerbaijani side continues, accompanied by false accusations of ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani side in recent days.
"I would like to emphasize that these accusations are absolutely groundless, as evidenced by the EU observers deployed along our state border with Azerbaijan," Mirzoyan emphasized.
He is confident that for lasting peace, Armenia and Azerbaijan must consistently promote mutual trust and dialogue.
"A positive contribution to this process could be made by resolving unresolved humanitarian issues, including the release of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees, as well as an effective investigation into cases of missing persons and enforced disappearances. Therefore, I want to emphasize that the time for peace has come, and if Armenia's strong political will for stability and prosperity in the region is reciprocated, we will achieve the long-awaited and desired peace," Mirzoyan said.
From March 16 to 20, the Armenian Defense Ministry denied the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s reports of shooting on the border 12 times.-0-
