16:01,
YEREVAN, MAY 17, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has reiterated at the 4th Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik, Iceland that sending an international fact-finding mission to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh is of high priority and starting Baku-Stepanakert negotiations for ensuring security and human rights to Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh under international mechanisms is of vital importance.
In his speech at the summit, the Armenian PM said that the Council of Europe will promote democracy and stability in the South Caucasus by assisting in addressing these issues.
Below is the transcript of Prime Minister Pashinyan’s speech:
“Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen,
Based on our own experience, we can say that war is the biggest threat to democracy.
For a long time, the Nagorno Karabakh conflict served as an excuse for the lack of democracy in Armenia. In 2018, our Velvet Revolution provided great democratic developments in Armenia. But in September 2020, Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia had to get involved in the war. Many still think that the cause of the war was Armenia’s aspiration for democracy in the region where democracy may be viewed with suspicion. On November 9, 2020, I signed a trilateral ceasefire agreement which became the reason for attacks on state institutions in Armenia. But we were able to maintain the country’s democracy, we decided to conduct early elections to safeguard public accord. On May 12, 2021, two days after mine and National Assembly’s resignation came into effect for the purpose of the elections, Azerbaijan invaded the territory of Armenia. If we diverted from our way of democracy, we would have lost our statehood. But we provided internationally recognized free and democratic elections and shaped the agenda of peace. But our agenda of peace was also attacked. In November 2021 and September 2022 Azerbaijan again invaded the territory of Armenia. On October 6, 2022 with support of the French President Macron and President of EU Council Michel, we reached an agreement with the President of Azerbaijan that we normalize our relations on the basis of the 1991 Almaty Declaration, according to which the administrative borders of the former Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan would become our state borders. Three days ago, with the mediation of the President of the EU Council Charles Michel, we made a step further, emphasizing that Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan’s territory of 86,6 thousand square kilometers and Azerbaijan recognizes the territory of Armenia of 29,8 thousand square kilometers. But as a result of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh have been under siege for five months and are facing a humanitarian crisis. To send an international fact-finding mission to the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh is of high priority today, and to start Baku-Stepanakert negotiations aimed at providing security and human rights for the Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh under the international mechanism is of vital importance. Assisting in addressing these issues, the Council of Europe will promote democracy and stability in the South Caucasus. Thank you.”