Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be anchored on several fundamental principles to prevent escalation or aggression in the future, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister of Greece George Gerapetritis in Yerevan, Mirzoyan said that on January 4 Armenia responded to Azerbaijan’s proposals on a peace treaty which was received in late December 2023.
“I’d say that in terms of content we see certain regress in some parts of the Azerbaijani proposals, but also progress in several other directions. And we’ve worked very constructively on these offers and we’ve sent our proposals, which, I am sure, are very constructive,” Mirzoyan said.
What matters are the principles on which the peace must be based, he added.
“Regardless whether any specific clause of the new offer is regress or progress, the final peace must definitely be anchored on several fundamental principles. The countries must recognize each other’s territorial integrity without any ambiguity. This is a matter that requires maximum clarity, and the final peace treaty must ensure that clarity. Also, understandably, if the delimitation of borders can take a long time, we must at least see in the peace treaty the clear grounds upon which the delimitation process must take place in the future.
These are the issues where the Republic of Armenia cannot see or allow any uncertainty. Also because of the reason that uncertainty is grounds for future aggression or escalations. Therefore, if we are establishing peace, we are establishing the kind of peace that would be maximally difficult to doubt or violate,” Mirzoyan said.
The next principle is the unblocking of economic links and infrastructures in the region, based on fair and fundamental principles, Mirzoyan added.
Reiterating Armenia’s interest on opening the links, Mirzoyan said, “Peace isn’t only the absence of gunfire. Peace is open borders and the movement of goods and persons on each other’s territory. It’s difficult to talk about the establishment of peace in South Caucasus when Armenia continues to be blockaded.”
Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia is interested in the continuation of negotiations.
"We expect that in the near future there will be an opportunity to have the agreement of the Azerbaijani side and to continue our negotiations."
