Pashinyan proposed that Azerbaijan simultaneously sign both a peace agreement and a statement on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group

YEREVAN, April 15. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proposed that Azerbaijan simultaneously sign a peace agreement and a joint statement on the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures related to the Karabakh conflict.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, the Armenian prime minister noted that the draft "Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan" has been agreed upon, and the parties have entered the stage of discussions regarding its signing.

"Azerbaijan officially links the signing of the agreement to two issues—one of them being the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group structures. I have repeatedly stated that this agenda is acceptable to the Republic of Armenia," Pashinyan said.

"If we are closing the chapter on the Karabakh conflict and we are doing so then what is the point of maintaining a structure dedicated to that conflict? However, the OSCE Minsk Group, at least de facto, has a broader context, and we want to ensure that Azerbaijan does not view the dissolution of the Minsk Group as an attempt to 'close' the Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation on Azerbaijani territory and shift it onto the territory of the Republic of Armenia," the prime minister added.

To address this concern, Nikol Pashinyan officially proposed that Azerbaijan simultaneously sign both the peace agreement and a statement addressed to the OSCE on dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group structures.