The interview of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan with Correio Braziliense, one of the major daily newspapers published in the capital, Brasília, has been published. The interview was given during Minister Mirzoyan’s official visit to Brazil.
Question: What are the terms of the peace agreement with Azerbaijan? When will it be implemented?
Ararat Mirzoyan: A peace agreement sounds very good, but in reality, so far, we have managed to complete the draft of the agreement. It contains a preamble and 17 articles, and after long negotiations, we managed to reach an agreement on the text. We immediately expressed, publicly, our readiness to begin consultations with our Azeri counterparts to find a location and date to sign the peace treaty. Unfortunately, what we hear from the Azerbaijani side sounds like this: "We agree with the text, but it’s not enough for a peace agreement. We also need to list a series of preconditions to be brought to the negotiating table to enable the signing of the peace agreement.” These preconditions include, for example, amendments to Armenia’s Constitution.
Interestingly, alongside the negotiations surrounding the peace agreement, we presented other proposals to Azerbaijan – proposals we believe would be mutually beneficial.
Question: What kind of proposals?
Ararat Mirzoyan: For example, regarding the acquisition of armaments, we proposed creating bilateral mechanisms for arms control and verification. There was no positive response from Azerbaijan.
Last week, they came forward with false accusations of violations along the border by Armenia’s forces. We have, for instance, the European monitoring mission observing the situation along the border. These observers have not identified or found any violations committed by Armenia. We asked Azerbaijan for some proof or data – if they had any evidence of violations by our soldiers – so we could investigate. Another proposal of ours was the creation of this bilateral verification mechanism for border incidents.
Furthermore, if a peace agreement is concluded and we establish relations with Azerbaijan, that alone will not be enough. There could be more projects beneficial to both countries. We also proposed opening up communications, transportation, and infrastructure. They need to use our railways to connect two parts of their country. But they could also use the railway infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia to connect to Türkiye, the Mediterranean, etc. Based on a preliminary exchange of ideas and our proposals, we could gain reciprocal access to Azerbaijan’s railway infrastructure.
No positive response. Yes, we agreed on the draft of the agreement, but they came with preconditions and did not respond to the other proposals we made, which could bring true and lasting peace to the South Caucasus.
Question: So, is the peace agreement at risk?
Ararat Mirzoyan: I can assure you, the entire world, and Azerbaijan that Armenia is fully committed to the peace agenda. We have no intention, no reason, or motivation to start another war and escalate the situation. There is positive news: the completion of negotiations and the draft peace treaty. But there is also worrying news. Yes, peace, based on what we are hearing from the Azeri side, may be at risk because of Azerbaijan.
Question: Is there any prospect of normalizing relations between Armenia and Türkiye?
Ararat Mirzoyan: We have a very constructive dialogue with Türkiye. Within this dialogue, there have been no preconditions set by either the Armenian or Turkish side. We have publicly stated that the goal of establishing diplomatic relations is the opening of the border between Türkiye and Armenia. The border was closed by the Turkish side 34 years ago. We have made some tangible progress, such as lifting the ban on air cargo transport. We also established direct flights, among other confidence-building measures. We agreed that, in a first stage, the border could be opened for citizens of third countries and Armenian and Turkish citizens holding diplomatic passports. This agreement has not yet been implemented. What we hear from our Turkish colleagues is that they are restrained from fully opening Armenia’s border until the final normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Although there is no formal precondition, we have seen that they link Türkiye-Armenia relations to Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. We believe that if we opened the border between Armenia and Türkiye first, it could have a very positive impact on our relations with Azerbaijan.
Among the tangible measures achieved with Türkiye, we have started, bilaterally, border infrastructure work. Armenian and Turkish experts have begun examining the situation of the railway linking Gyumri to Kars. There are processes underway.
We believe that lasting peace in the South Caucasus also depends on humanitarian issues, such as investigating the whereabouts of missing persons and victims of forced disappearances. But we also still have prisoners in Baku who have gone through staged judicial processes. We believe that the immediate release of these prisoners could help establish lasting peace between the two peoples.
Question: How do you assess the importance of your visit to Brasília?
Ararat Mirzoyan: I consider this visit very important. As you said, it has been a long time since we last had a high-level visit, although the relaunch of deepening relations between Armenia and Brazil began last year. We held political consultations, after a long pause, between the two foreign ministries. By the end of this year, the second round will take place. Brazilian diplomats will visit Yerevan. Minister Mauro Vieira has an open invitation to visit my country. In Brasília, we discussed various opportunities. Our political dialogue has intensified and will maintain its momentum. We have very good cooperation in international fora, mutually supporting candidacies for various positions on international platforms. We share the same concerns about the inadequate functioning of the international system, especially in preventing and providing early warnings of serious human rights violations and mass atrocities. We have seen an increase in numbers regarding the economy and trade. We also understand that there is still great potential. We agreed to organize business contacts between the two sides. We talked about cooperation between Armenian and Brazilian companies. We identified sectors where we can make efforts to strengthen ties and make them mutually beneficial, especially in high technology and information technology. There is potential, and we have a vision of the steps we need to take to bring the two countries closer.
Question: What are the import and export figures between Armenia and Brazil?
Ararat Mirzoyan: We basically import from Brazil. You are the exporters, and that accounts for over 90% of the products. So, it’s quite unbalanced. As you can imagine, it includes coffee, sugar, tobacco, but also other goods. We have a very optimistic perspective on the relationship between Brazil and Armenia.
Question: What about the prospect of President Lula visiting Armenia?
Ararat Mirzoyan: We would be honored by a visit from President Lula. There is an open invitation from the Armenian side. The Brazilian side can provide concrete dates. It would be an honor, especially considering that Brazil will host COP-30, the major climate change event. Armenia, by a happy coincidence, will host COP-17 on Biodiversity. Here, we have very serious potential for Armenia and Brazil, for high-level visits. We are very eager to welcome President Lula. We are certain that the Armenian president would be happy to make a reciprocal visit to Brazil.
Question: What do you expect from cooperation with the U.S. under the Trump administration? How can it assist in this peace process?
Ararat Mirzoyan: A few months ago, we signed a very important document with the U.S., a Strategic Partnership Charter. It elevates our relations with the U.S. We are moving forward with efforts to engage with the new American administration. We have had several meetings and interactions with our American colleagues. We see interest in peace in the South Caucasus. President Trump and his team have spoken about peace in the world. For us, who are very interested in peace, this sounds encouraging. We are maintaining contact with the American administration to see what can be done in the South Caucasus to achieve lasting peace.
