Responding to Ilham Aliyev’s allegations.

I attached my Google aided translation of the PM Nikol Pashinyan’s response to Aliev’s allegation reported by ARMENPRESS.AM today, January 8, 2025. See the PM Nikol Pashinyan’s Facebook page for the orginial. Vahe H Apelian

 

Mr. Prime Minister, the President of Azerbaijan made aggressive statements in an interview with local TV channels regarding the Republic of Armenia. What is your assessment? – 

Perhaps Baku is trying to create “legitimacy” for escalation in the region. Aggressive statements are being made with the expectation that aggressive responses will be heard from Yerevan, which will give Baku the opportunity to make its own statements more aggressive, combining this with the dissemination of false information about the violation of the ceasefire regime by the Armenian army in order to create a “justification” for a new escalation in the region. We will not follow this path. We will remain committed to the peace strategy and will consistently continue the implementation of the peace agenda. This means that we will use the language of dialogue, not aggression. We will continue to focus on the issues of demarcation, agreement on the text of the peace treaty, the implementation of the “Crossroads of Peace” project, humanitarian issues, including the clarification of the fate of the missing.

The President of Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of being a fascist state. Does this also fit into the logic you mentioned? – 

Without a doubt, because the calculation is that the reaction will be: you are the fascist, and the spiral I described will begin to tighten. But there is another approach. Let's record that Azerbaijan has such a perception of Armenia and try to understand what the reason is. On the other hand, it is obvious that the Republic of Armenia also has such a perception of Azerbaijan. It is precisely these mutual perceptions that have led to the multi-year conflict. But the peace strategy is for us to record that Azerbaijan has such a perception of us, and for them to record that Armenia has such a perception of them. The peace agenda is about discussing and addressing these perceptions. Some of the agreed articles of the draft peace treaty close the page on some of these perceptions, while other parts provide an opportunity to make all mutual negative perceptions part of the bilateral agenda and address them. I would like to add that we have proposed solutions regarding the two articles of the peace treaty that were not agreed upon and, in case of a positive response from Azerbaijan, we are ready to sign the treaty.

The President of Azerbaijan has again spoken about the corridor, saying that it must be opened and will be opened. What does this mean?

 The Republic of Armenia has put the "Crossroads of Peace" project on the table and is preparing to implement it. There is no other project on our agenda. "Crossroads of Peace" implies the opening of all transport communications in the region, including Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia and Armenia-Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan. I have already had the opportunity to announce that we have made a very specific proposal to Azerbaijan to open the Yeraskh-Sadarak-Ordubad-Meghri-Zangelan railway. This is more than a proposal, it is a specific solution to specific issues, and we are waiting for a positive response from Azerbaijan, after which the agreement will be recorded on paper, and we will begin the construction of our sections of the railway.

And what do you say about Aliyev's statement yesterday about the so-called "Western Azerbaijan"?

 Nothing new has been said on this topic for me to have a new response. And I responded to what was said previously in a previous interview with "Armenpress". I reaffirm my answer.

The President of Azerbaijan has again spoken about the armament of the Republic of Armenia, saying that it will only bring new tension to the region.

I have repeatedly touched on this topic. There is no element of illegitimacy in the agenda of the reforms of the army of the Republic of Armenia. I must repeat that the Republic of Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of all its neighbors, including Azerbaijan, and expects the same, that is, clear and unconditional recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia from Azerbaijan. I have also stated that we do not set a goal of returning more than 200 square kilometers of occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia by military means, because the demarcation process provides an opportunity to address this issue peacefully, through negotiations. Having stated all this, no one can dispute the right of the Republic of Armenia to have a capable army. As for the concerns related to armament, we also have concerns about the armament by Azerbaijan, and we have also heard their concerns. This is the reason why we have proposed to Azerbaijan to form a mechanism for mutual control of armaments and are waiting for their response.

In recent days, Azerbaijan has repeatedly spread information that the Armenian army has allegedly violated the ceasefire regime on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense denied this information, recalling the proposal to create a joint mechanism for investigating cases of ceasefire violations. - Of course, the information about the violation of the ceasefire regime by our army does not correspond to reality. But in order not to make such situations a reason for periodic debates, we have proposed creating a joint mechanism to jointly check every alarm about the violation of the ceasefire regime and come to joint conclusions. We are waiting for Azerbaijan's response. 

 Ilham Aliyev also said that the next meeting of the demarcation commissions will take place in January.

Yes, a meeting is planned in January. I am convinced that the positive experience of the demarcation that took place in 2024 should be developed calmly, in working conditions. We are disposed to such work. Subscribe to our channel on Telegram