Mirzoyan warns of threat to peace from Azerbaijan and presents Armenian proposals
YEREVAN, March 26. /ARKA/. Peace may be under threat due to Azerbaijan, based on the statements from the Azerbaijani side. This was stated by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in an interview with the Brazilian daily newspaper Correio Braziliense.
"I can assure the entire world and Azerbaijan that Armenia is fully committed to the peace agenda. We have no intention, reason, or motivation to start a new war or escalate the situation," Mirzoyan said.
He reminded that so far only the draft peace agreement has been completed.
"It includes a preamble and 17 articles, and after long negotiations, we managed to agree on the text. We immediately announced Armenia's readiness to begin consultations with our Azerbaijani counterparts to determine the time and place for signing the peace agreement. Unfortunately, what we hear from the Azerbaijani side is: 'We agree with the text, but that is not enough for a peace agreement.' It is necessary to discuss a number of preconditions at the negotiating table for the signing of the peace treaty to become possible," Mirzoyan explained.
He noted that these preconditions include amendments to the Constitution of Armenia and restrictions on the supply of ammunition and weapons to Armenia.
"In parallel with the negotiations on the peace agreement, we presented other proposals to Azerbaijan that we believe would be mutually beneficial. For example, we suggested creating a bilateral mechanism for monitoring and verifying weapons. However, there was no positive response from Azerbaijan," Mirzoyan said.
He reminded that last week, Azerbaijan falsely accused the Armenian Armed Forces of violating the ceasefire in the border zone.
"Meanwhile, for example, the EU observer mission, which monitors the situation along the border, did not record any violations by Armenia. We asked Azerbaijan to provide any evidence or data, if available, regarding violations by our military personnel so that we could conduct an investigation," Mirzoyan stated.
According to him, another proposal from the Armenian side was the creation of a mechanism for bilateral verification of border incidents.
"Moreover, if a peace agreement is signed and we improve relations with Azerbaijan, that alone will not be enough. Other mutually beneficial projects for both countries are also possible. We also proposed opening communication, transportation, and infrastructure links," Mirzoyan noted.
He pointed out that Azerbaijan needs to use Armenia's railways to connect its two parts.
"But they can also use the railway infrastructure of Armenia to connect to Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, etc. Based on our initial exchange of proposals and ideas, we might be able to gain mutual access to Azerbaijan's railway infrastructure. However, we did not receive a positive response on that matter either," Mirzoyan said.
He concluded by noting that Azerbaijan has not responded positively to other proposals from Armenia that could bring real and lasting peace to the South Caucasus.
