Real negotiations do not take place during meetings, but through consultation channels, exchanging papers. This was announced by ruling majority Civil Contract Faction MP Gevorg Papoyan in a conversation with reporters Wednesday in the National Assembly of Armenia, and referring to the fact that recently there seems to be a pause in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.
"At the end, when the leaders of the countries gather, they, in fact, sum up the work done and come to some conclusions and go one step forward. I believe that the [talks’] process has not stopped in that sense. Maybe there are no active meetings and they may have been influenced by various geopolitical factors, including the Arab-Israeli war. This carries with it risks for Armenia, as it diverts the world's attention to that issue. But it must be said that the cautious optimism associated with signing a peace treaty [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] in 2024 remains, as, by and large, there is an understanding on the main, key issues," said Papoyan.
According to him, the only issue on which there was no such understanding was the "corridor" issue.
"But that issue, in my impression, has been left out at least of the public statements of Azerbaijan and Turkey. Even on the contrary; they say that they don't need it [i.e. a corridor via Armenia] because they have found another way that is more convenient for them economically. For a long time, that was what hindered the process because it is a red line for Armenia.
"I suppose that nothing prevents by Armenia from sitting down and working on the final text [of the aforesaid peace treaty] now. We [Armenia] are ready, based on the [former Soviet Union] maps of 1974-1975, copies of which, as far as I know, both sides have, to agree on [border] demarcation, delimitation, unblocking of [regional] roads," said the Armenian ruling force lawmaker.
Gevorg Papoyan added that if this process takes place, there will be a mutual recognition of territories, and Armenia does not see any obstacle to signing a peace treaty.
