Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with Armenpress, responded to harsh statements made by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and appealed for de-escalation saying that Armenia will remain committed to a strategy for the implementation of the agenda of peace.
Aliyev had accused Armenia of posing a fascist threat that needed to be destroyed. In an interview with Azerbaijani television channels on Tuesday night, Aliyev said: "Armenia is effectively a source of threat to the region. The independent Armenian state is essentially a fascist state. For nearly 30 years, this country was governed by bearers of fascist ideology, and they shaped the state in their own image. Therefore, fascism must be eradicated," he added. "It will either be eradicated by Armenia's leadership or by us. There is no other way."
In the interview with Armenpress Pashinyan responded by saying that Baku was attempting to form “legitimacy” for escalation in the region and that aggressive statements were being made with an expectation for an equally aggressive response by Yerevan, which would enable Baku to make more aggressive statements and claim a “justification” for new escalation in the region. Pashinyan said that Armenia will not take that path and will remain committed to the strategy of peace while applying the language of dialogue and non-aggression. “We will continue to be focused on delimitation, conclusion of the text of the peace treaty, implementation of the Crossroads of Peace project, humanitarian issues, including the issues of determining the fate of the missing persons”, Pashinyan stated.
Pashinyan said that the agenda of peace was about discussing and addressing negative perceptions about each other and that Armenia has proposed solutions regarding two outstanding articles of the peace treaty, and in case of a positive response by Azerbaijan, was ready to sign the treaty. Azerbaijan has said that Armenia must change its constitution to remove what Baku says are claims to its territory before a treaty can be signed. Armenia says it makes no claim on Azerbaijani lands. Aliyev said that his country wanted no return to war, but that Armenia, which is several times smaller than Azerbaijan in both population and area, was rearming for conflict.
Armenpress also asked Pashinyan to respond to the Azerbaijani President’s claims about Armenia's armaments leading to new tensions in the region. Pashinyan said there is not a single element of illegitimacy in Armenia’s agenda of military reforms and that Armenia recognises the territorial integrity of all its neighbors, including Azerbaijan, and expects the same from Azerbaijan, meaning, a clear and unconditional recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia.
Pashinyan stated: “I have also announced that we do not have an objective of militarily returning more than 200 square kilometers of occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia, because the delimitation process allows us to address this issue through peaceful negotiations. With that being said, no one can dispute the right of the Republic of Armenia to have a defensible army. Regarding concerns about armaments, we also have concerns about Azerbaijan's armaments, and we have heard their concerns. This is the reason why we proposed to Azerbaijan to form a mutual arms control mechanism and we are waiting for their response”.
Concerning Azerbaijan’s accusations against the Armenian military of violating the ceasefire on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Pashinyan denied the accusations and said Armenia had proposed to develop a joint mechanism for ceasefire violation investigations to jointly investigate each report about ceasefire violations, and draw joint conclusions. We are waiting for Azerbaijan's response. Pashinyan concluded.
In the interview, Pashinyan also elaborated on the Crossroads of Peace that implies the opening of all transport connections in the region, including Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia, and Armenia-Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan. Pashinyan said: “I already had the occasion to announce that we have made a very concrete proposal to Azerbaijan on opening the Yeraskh-Sadarak-Ordubad-Meghri-Zangelan railway. It is more than a proposal, it is a concrete solution to concrete issues, and we are waiting for Azerbaijan's positive reaction, after which the agreement will be documented on paper and we will commence the construction of our sections of the railway”.
In the interview on Azerbaijani TV, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan would secure the Zangezur corridor, a route connecting the country's mainland with its Nakhchivan exclave and close ally Turkey. Armenia says it is not against unblocking transport routes across its territory, but must retain control of any such corridor.
source: commonspace.eu with Reuters, ArmenPress and agencies
