Pashinian at the same time accused Baku of seeking to fully reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and drive out its ethnic Armenian population.
“I once again express Armenia’s readiness to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. Armenia is prepared for an immediate start of peace negotiations,” he said in a lengthy speech delivered at the start of a weekly session of his cabinet.
Pashinian indicated that the issue will be high on the agenda of his talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that will be hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels on April 6.
“I hope to discuss and agree at that meeting with the president of Azerbaijan all the issues related to the start of peace talks,” he said.
Yerevan formally proposed such negotiations on Monday. Baku responded by saying the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal must be based on five elements that were presented by it to Yerevan on March 10. Those include, among other things, a mutual commitment to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.
Pashinian said the Armenian side has already notified Baku that “there is nothing unacceptable for us in Azerbaijan’s proposals.”
“This reply means that the principle of mutual recognition of territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders is acceptable to Armenia,” he stressed.
Similar statements made by Pashinian and members of his political team earlier this month drew strong condemnation from Armenian opposition leaders. The latter maintain that Pashinian’s administration is ready to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
Meanwhile, Aliyev expressed the hope that the upcoming talks in Brussels will pave the way for the signing of the Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty “as early as possible.” He was reported to describe Armenian leaders’ responses to the Azerbaijani proposals on the peace deal as “good news.”
Meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau in Baku, Aliyev also reiterated that Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 war with Armenia put an end to the Karabakh conflict. “The conflict is already settled,” he said.
Pashinian complained on Thursday that despite his conciliatory stance Azerbaijan is ratcheting up tensions in Karabakh and trying to “legitimize” a possible large-scale assault not only on the disputed territory but also Armenia. He pointed to last week’s Azerbaijani incursion into a Karabakh village, saying that it was part of Baku’s broader attempts to “terrorize” the Karabakh Armenians and force them to flee the territory.
“The apparent purpose of these actions is to finish the policy of ethnic cleansing of Karabakh’s Armenians,” charged the Armenian premier.
Azerbaijani troops captured the Karabakh village of Parukh and advanced towards a strategic mountain to the west of it on March 24, meeting with stiff resistance from Karabakh Armenian forces. Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh intervened to stop deadly fighting there.
Azerbaijani forces reportedly withdrew from the village on Monday. But they continue to occupy a section of the Karaglukh mountain.
