The press conference of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

On March 14, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a press conference in the Government, which was attended by representatives of more than 4 dozen mass media.

During his press conference, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave details of what was discussed during the telephone conversation with the Russian President yesterday, March 13.

"Our conversation with the president of the Russian Federation yesterday was mainly devoted to the danger of escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh, I simply conveyed my information, and impressions, and also emphasized that I think there are problems in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

Nikol Pashinyan also mentioned that, in his opinion, something very unexpected happened in Nagorno-Karabakh, in front of the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping force.

l Pashinyan answered the question that if there's an escalation in the direction of Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia will ensure the security of Artsakh and whether the Republic of Armenia continues to be the guarantor of the security of Artsakh.

 "Why did I sign the statement of November 9?  Perceiving that in that kind of situation RA cannot be the full guarantor of the security of Nagorno Karabakh, therefore, it was necessary to create a system that would guarantee the security of Nagorno Karabakh.  According to the tripartite declaration and according to the decision of the Federal Council of the Russian Federation, which allows the President of the Russian Federation to send troops to Nagorno-Karabakh, all this has been recorded that the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh is the Russian Federation.  Not because Armenia is refusing to do it, but, unfortunately, because of the defeat in the 44-day war, cannot fully fulfill that function.  Therefore, by its own commitment, the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh is the Russian Federation."

Pashinyan claimed there is no crisis in Armenia’s relations with Russia. He described the relations between Yerevan and Moscow to be very frank.

“Our relations with Russia are very frank, I don’t see a crisis,” Pashinyan said at a press conference. “We speak, discuss, and we record that there are problems, a part of which are objective. These problems aren’t subjective to have a crisis impact on the relations. Our relations are in a normal state, which doesn’t mean that there are no mutual concerns,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister of Armenia also spoke about the possibility of a meeting with the leader of Azerbaijan, claiming that a meeting of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in any format is not planned in the near future. 

"I have never avoided a meeting, but on the other hand, the experience of our meetings shows that there should be guarantees about the fulfillment of agreements and commitments," he said.

The head of the government noticed that in the previous meetings with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels, the parties reached various agreements, but their implementation became impossible because of the actions of the Azerbaijani side.

Pashinyan also referred to the possible peace treaty with Azerbaijan, saying that Azerbaijan is rigging the draft peace treaty with traps in order to continue its aggressive policy against Armenia even after the possible signing of the agreement, PM Nikol Pashinyan warned on Tuesday.

“What’s Azerbaijan doing? Azerbaijan says "I’ve won the war, so what negotiations, what proposals? I’ve won, I am sending a paper, I’ve sent my five principles, sign it, and if you don’t sign it, in 2023 I will launch a major attack".

Pashinyan said that Azerbaijan is using threats in the negotiations process, as it did before the 44-Day War.

“Before the war, Azerbaijan’s negotiation position was the following – "give me what I want to gain through war, or else I will take it through war". And that was a very difficult choice,” Pashinyan added.

German Chancellor Scholz referred to the Lachin Corridor

Germany is ready to provide its support in the direction of finding a long-term and feasible solution to the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh for the benefit of the local residents, TASS informed, referring to the statement made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.

"Our joint goal should be finding a long-term and feasible solution to this conflict for the benefit of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said, adding that the peaceful settlement of the conflict should be based on preserving the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The Russian peacekeeping contingent recorded a violation of the ceasefire regime in the Martuni region - Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The Russian peacekeeping forces recorded a violation of the ceasefire regime in the Martuni region during the previous day. There are no casualties. 

"Regarding this fact, the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops is conducting a joint investigation with the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides," it is said on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

It is noted that Russian peacekeepers are monitoring the situation around the clock and monitoring the maintenance of the ceasefire regime in thirty observation posts.

Former NATO Secretary General claims blocking Lachin Corridor is illegal

"The last time I visited Armenia was in 2012 as the Secretary General of NATO. Many things have happened since then. I met with the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and the Defense Minister yesterday, and commended the government to solidify democracy in Armenia", Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Secretary General of NATO, Founder, and Chairman of "Rasmussen Global" international political consulting organization, said this at a press briefing in Jermuk city, Vayots Dzor, Armenia.
 
According to him, he arrived on the invitation of Armenia to help the Armenian government to strengthen ties with the West and the EU.

Other News

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• Artsakh denies the transfer of soldiers and weapons from Armenia accompanied by peacekeeping troops

• Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan to visit Russia

• Azerbaijan spreads another disinformation

• Former Secretary-General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen visits the entrance of the blocked Lachin Corridor.