Pashinyan commented on the trilateral meeting with Aliyev and Michel at today's government session

At the beginning of the government session on April 7, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about the meeting held yesterday in Brussels with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. He stressed that based on the results of the meeting, decisions were made over two issues. First, the foreign ministers of the two countries have been instructed to begin preparations for the future peace treaty, to hold talks and establish contacts in this direction. 

Referring the content of the peace agreement, Pashinyan noted: "The security guarantees of the people of Nagorno Karabakh, the protection of their rights and freedoms, as well as the clarification of the final status of Nagorno Karabakh are of fundamental importance for us. These issues are included in our response to the peace agenda and they should become subject of negotiations." Speaking about the work on the establishment of the commission on the delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Pashinyan stressed that the commission will have a double mandate. The first is delimitation. Second, ensuring security and stability along the border.

According to Pashinyan, Armenia's position is that there is a de jure border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and that is the border that existed in Soviet times. "With this consideration, it’s necessary to start the delimitation works and try to reach solutions, taking parallel measures to ensure security and stability," Pashinyan said. "There are territories of the Republic of Armenia that are under the control of Azerbaijan, there are territories of Azerbaijan that are under the control of Armenia, these issues must be resolved through negotiations, of course, on the basis of de jure substantiated records and legally grounded facts," Pashinyan said. During the meeting, the topic of the need for the return of POWs and other detainees was also discussed.

“Naturally there was a discussion around the worsening of the security environment in Nagorno Karabakh, particularly the incidents in Parukh,” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting. “But these discussions didn’t lead to a common assessment of the situation. I myself didn’t find the further discussion of this topic to be appropriate in the Brussels platform because nevertheless this is about the Azerbaijani military invasion into the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Nagorno Karabakh, and this issue ought to be discussed with participation of our Russian colleagues, which we are doing and will continue to do.” Reiterating the Armenian side’s stance over this issue, the PM added: “Therefore we expect that the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh will take steps to ensure the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani military units from their zone of responsibility. We also attach importance to holding an investigation into the adequateness or potential inaction of the Russian peacekeeping troops’ actions during the course of development of the events and in the theater of operations.”

The PM said he spoke about this during his phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I must state that an agreement was reached to move forward in both directions. The further assessment, of course, depends on the results to be achieved during the practical implementation of the agreements.

We will consistently continue to advance our agenda of opening an era of peaceful development for our country and the region, and we must do our utmost to make this agenda a reality. I repeat, unfortunately, it does not depend only on us, but we must do our part consistently,” Pashinyan said.

Charles Michel, Dmitry Peskov and Josep Borrell commented on the trilateral meeting

Statement of European Council President Charles Michel following the Second Trilateral Meeting with President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

"The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, hosted the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, for a continuation of their discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries. President Michel reiterated the EU’s commitment to deepen its cooperation with Armenia and Azerbaijan to work closely in overcoming tensions and promote a South Caucasus that is secure, stable, peaceful and prosperous for the benefit of all people living in the region.

The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with President Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. They discussed the recent reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement. They welcomed the meeting of senior representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan on 30 March 2022 under EU auspices in Brussels and agreed on the necessity to continue this engagement to ensure adequate follow-up to agreements reached at leaders’ level. President Michel emphasised the importance of humanitarian gestures by both sides to promote confidence and peaceful coexistence. He stressed the need for the full and speedy resolution of all outstanding humanitarian issues, including the release of remaining detainees and comprehensively addressing the issue of missing persons, and stated that the EU is ready to support this endeavour. The EU will likewise continue to support confidence building measures between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as humanitarian de-mining efforts, including by continuing to provide expert advice and stepping up financial assistance, and assistance to conflict-affected populations, rehabilitation and reconstruction."

The Kremlin has positively assessed the decision of Armenia and Azerbaijan to start negotiations on a peace agreement. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters about this.

"It is clear that this process is quite long. But the move to sign such a document is in itself a positive fact and is welcome," Peskov said, TASS reported.

Crucial efforts and progress were made between Armenia and Azerbaijan to work towards lasting peace and a stable and secure South Caucasus, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the EU Commission Josep Borrell said in a tweet referring to the EU-mediated meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“Crucial efforts and progress made between Armenia and Azerbaijan to work towards lasting peace and a stable and secure South Caucasus. In the current geopolitical context it is more important than ever to find ways to engage and to diplomatically solve conflicts,” Borrell said, sharing European Council President Charles Michel’s tweet.

Ahead of Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting, 43 MEPs send letter to Charles Michel |1lurer.am|

On the initiative of the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) François-Xavier Bellamy and Loucas Fourlas, 43 MEPs from all the major political groups addressed a letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell, ahead of the Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels. 

MEPs express their concerns about Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing against the native Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh. They urge the EU leadership to use all available leverage to pressure Azerbaijan to stop its aggressive policy in Artsakh, immediately withdraw its military forces back to their initial positions and stop any action that could endanger the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The letter refers in particular to the provocations unleashed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in the recent weeks, such as the incursion of the Azerbaijani armed forces into the Armenian village of Parukh, to difficult situation caused in the village of Khramort, as well as to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh following the cut of gas supplies by Azerbaijan. The MEPs conclude their letter by stating that the EU cannot allow ethnic cleansing in its neighborhood.

Commenting on the letter, the President of the EAFJD Kaspar Karampetian emphasized:

“This initiative of the Members of the European Parliament is a strong signal to EU executive leaders, as it provides a clear assessment of the policy pursued by Azerbaijan, qualifying it as a policy of ethnic cleansing. We must continue to be consistent for the EU to put pressure on Azerbaijan to end its anti-Armenian policy of forcing the native Armenian population out of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh.”

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