Pashinian denounced as an “act of aggression” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s weekend statement made in a northern Karabakh village captured by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 war.
Aliyev declared there that he will not sign the peace treaty unless Yerevan recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan and accepts his terms for demarcating the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Armenians will not live in peace in the absence of such an accord, he warned.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Azerbaijan of laying claim to Armenia’s entire territory and “doing everything to make peace in the region impossible.”
Pashinian likewise charged that Aliyev’s comments constitute a “blatant violation” of Armenian-Azerbaijani understandings reached last year.
He also pointed out that an Armenian soldier was shot and killed by Azerbaijani troops on the border between the two South Caucasus states on Wednesday. The ceasefire violation is further proof that “Azerbaijan is leading the situation to a new escalation,” he said during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan.
Nevertheless, Pashinian went on to state: “I want to send the following message to all of you and the international community: there will be a peace treaty and it and will be based on written documents reached at the highest levels to date.”
The conflicting sides have exchanged in recent months written proposals regarding the treaty which Baku hopes will help to restore full Azerbaijani control over Nagorno-Karabakh. Few of their details have been made public so far.
The U.S. State Department reported “significant progress” in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a trilateral meeting with Aliyev and Pashinian in Munich last month.
Blinken spoke on Wednesday of an “opportunity to bring a peace agreement to fruition.” He cautioned, though, that the peace process is “challenging and fraught.”
Pashinian complained last week that Baku is rejecting most Armenian proposals on the would-be treaty and making more demands unacceptable to Armenia. He said that he will not sign any “capitulation” deals.
