Baku, June 28, AZERTAC

“A number of statements made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the online press conference on June 27, 2022 on the normalization process of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan cast doubt on this country's desire to establish lasting peace in the region,” said Azerbaijan`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as it commented on the statements of the Prime Minister of Armenia at a press conference on June 27.

“The fact that the leader of the country, which has been keeping the part of the territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation for almost 30 years in order to destroy it, accuses Azerbaijan of pursuing a policy of blockade during these years, does not fit into any legal and moral framework. We remind Prime Minister Pashinyan:

Azerbaijan has been a supporter and initiator of the normalization of relations between the two countries since the liberation of its territories, despite the aggressive policy of Armenia and the "destroy everything" approach used by Armenia for decades. It was the President of Azerbaijan who proposed to sign a peace agreement on the basis of strict adherence to the principles of international law at the post conflict stage. The Azerbaijani side even presented to the other side the basic principles on which the agreement should be based. If Azerbaijan wanted a war, as Pashinyan claims, these steps would probably not be needed. If Azerbaijan wanted a war, it would not have made great efforts to rebuild and restore the territories destroyed by Armenia for 30 years.

The Azerbaijani side not only makes verbal statements on the delimitation of borders between the two countries, the opening of all communications in the region and the signing of a future peace agreement between the parties, but also implements own statements with its actions and concrete steps. For many years, it was the Azerbaijani side that has said that the establishment of normal relations in the region and the opening of all communications would be beneficial to Armenia. The fact that the Armenian side finally realized this and the Prime Minister’s statement that “the opening of communications is beneficial for Armenia” attracts attention as a new approach of Armenian leadership. It seems that it takes some time for Armenia to accept the truth. We hope that it will not take much time for Armenia to realize the effectiveness of the Zangazur corridor, which has already become a reality.

As for the trilateral statements, the obligations assumed by the parties with this document and their implementation is obvious. Armenia by grossly violating the requirements of the document sends sabotage groups to the territories of Azerbaijan, does not withdraw illegal armed groups from the territories of Azerbaijan, and delays the opening of communications for a long time, grossly violates the implementation of these statements.

The Prime Minister of Armenia, without elaborating on the specific situation he refers to, claims that "the Azerbaijani side boycotted the meeting at least once". If we start listing the meetings that have been proposed so far with the participation of international mediators in the post-conflict phase and were violated by Armenia under various pretexts, as well as postponed by provocations 1-2 hours before, then the list will be very long.

If Armenia really wants peace, it must show its political will and take concrete steps towards peace, rather than spending time reviving a format whose efficiency has always been low and whose members now openly acknowledge its impossibility,” the ministry said.