Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan referred to the statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev within the framework of the Munich Security Conference.
“The President of Azerbaijan mentioned November 9, 2020 trilateral statement stating that the Lachin Corridor should be open under Russian control. A few children tried to ride through Lachin's corridor. Masked citizens of Azerbaijan stopped them, intruded into their bus, after which the children got scared, and that was the last time civilians tried to use the road,” said the Prime Minister.
Pashinyan also referred to Aliyev's statement about the ‘destroyed mosques’. "In 2017, mosques were destroyed to build a road in Azerbaijan. During the USSR, 1560 mosques were destroyed. Churches and mosques were destroyed in Armenia during the USSR. Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians should not pay for the actions of the USSR. That's a very dangerous narrative. I am afraid that Azerbaijan wants to give a religious context to the conflict. No such context. The proof of this is that we have a Muslim minority, a functioning mosque in our country.”
According to the Prime Minister, the word ‘capitulation’ used by the President of Azerbaijan is an offensive word.
“It seems that Azerbaijan has adopted the policy of revenge. It was metioned that our history is very complicated. I mentioned that this is a historical meeting, but for what purpose are we using it – for inflaming intolerance, hatred, aggressive rhetoric in our region or just the opposite - to promote peace? I think we should use this platform for peace. What is our goal? Deepen the enmity or use our capacities, the mandate granted to us? I am proud that our government, even after a devastating war, held free, democratic, transparent and competitive elections. The solution is democracy, transparency, dialogue and respect for all the countries of our region. And we are ready to for to that direction,” said Nikol Pashinyan.
