Category: 2021

 20:16,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. It stems from the general reality that the contacts between the representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan should be more frequent in order to be able to resolve the situation and find solutions, trying to avoid crises, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question why Yerevan and Baku have decided to use the platform of the Eastern Partnership for organizing the meeting, which is out of the OSCE Minsk Group format.

“Still back in summer, I stated several times that the Republic of Armenia is ready to have high and top-level meetings and negotiations with Azerbaijan within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. As you know, the foreign ministers have already had meetings in that format. We expect that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs’ format will also organize such a meeting. We have already announced about it in advance, we have expressed our readiness”, Pashinyan said.

Speaking about the expected meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on December 15, Pashinyan said that this is not something new, as President of the European Council  Charles Michel had proposed such an idea during a regional visit in the summer, saying that the Eastern Partnership summit will take place and suggested organizing such a meeting.

“I did not reject that idea, I accepted it, saying that we will further clarify in December. In already known circumstances, he called me and the president of Azerbaijan. We both confirmed our participation in the EaP summit and expressed readiness to meet within the framework of the summit,” Pashinyan said.

 20:30,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev will discuss humanitarian issues, including the issue of war prisoners during the December 15 meeting in Brussels, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question what expectations Armenia has from the Brussels meeting.

“The important nuance is that we will try not to mix the agendas discussed in different formats. I think, yes, one of the issues to be discussed in Brussels will be humanitarian issues, including the issue of war prisoners. And within the framework of the EU’s Eastern Partnership, issues of our relations will be discussed. There will also be a general contextual discussion. And I do not think it is good to form expectations from any specific meeting, either negative or positive, one should not expect such rapid results”, Pashinyan said.

There are tensions in the region, and in order to overcome those tensions, Pashinyan attached great importance to negotiations and use the opportunities for negotiations. He also highlighted that exaggerated expectations or apocalyptic moods should not be shaped over those negotiations.

The Prime Minister reminded that a meeting will be held in Sochi on November 26 through the mediation of the Russian President. “By the way, the talks about that meeting did not start yesterday, they had started earlier. Such meetings and agreements should be positively reacted”, the Prime Minister said.

 20:39,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian side was ready to meet online with the Azerbaijani side on November 9, if that meeting would solve a specific problem, for example, the return of the POWs. If not, it was suggested to change the day of the meeting, taking into account the painful perception of the Armenian side related to that day, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question if there had been a preliminary agreement to hold a trilateral meeting between Pashinyan, Putin and Aliyev during the period of November 9-17, if yes, who refused it and why.

“There was an idea to hold a trilateral online meeting on November 9. I said that the idea of that meeting can be discussed but it’s problematic for us. I clearly stated, I sincerely stated our position, that November 9 is a hard, unpleasant day for us, but if it turns out that we can agree on a clear outcome based on the results of the November 9 meeting, for example, to resolve the issue of prisoners, I’m ready to take the bitter with the sweet and participate in that online conference. Later, when it turned out that unfortunately we cannot reach such an agreement because of the different positions, we just recorded that the symbolism of November 9 is not pleasant for us and I asked and proposed to postpone the meeting until November 15”, PM Pashinyan said.

He stressed that before November 15 there was an offer to meet on November 26. And then the idea arose to meet face to face, not online. “I supported that idea, it turned out that it is acceptable for the President of Russia and the President of Azerbaijan, an agreement was reached,” Pashinyan said.

He reiterated that Armenia is ready to negotiate, work, make efforts and find mutually acceptable solutions. “But sometimes, through symbolism or other means, Azerbaijan tries to pursue a policy of aggressive coercion and blackmail against Armenia. And I said at the latest meeting of the Security Council that Armenia will not give in to this policy of blackmail, no matter how much we understand the vulnerability of our situation, because Azerbaijan, with the encouragement of other countries, already targets Armenia’s independence, sovereignty, statehood and democracy. And I said that one should not speak to Armenia in the language of coercion,” Pashinyan stated.

 21:02,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. It’s extremely important for Armenia that issues that are being already discussed at some platforms should not be discussed in the “3+3” format, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question what is the position of Armenia on the establishment of the “3+3” format.

According to the PM, the “3+3” format should not replicate the already existing formats.

“For example, we do not discuss the settlement of Nagorno Karabakh issue, for which there is the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, in the “3+3” format. Next, we have a trilateral commission working on the opening of the regional communications and this issue should not be discussed within the “3+3” format as well. Issues that are key and are not discussed in already existing formats should be discussed. Is it possible to formulate such issues? We will live to see,” said the Prime Minister.

The “3+3” format was proposed by Turkey following the 44-day war. The initiative envisages a new platform, in which the three countries of the South Caucasus – Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan – and their three neighbors – Russia, Turkey and Iran – will participate.

 21:03,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan referred to the question if there are risks for a new war with Azerbaijan.

ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan said in an online press conference that there is belligerent behavior by Azerbaijan, which must be restrained, including by international levers. “But we do not avoid direct contacts with Azerbaijan, and we will not avoid it. Why is the international community mediating contacts between the Defense Ministers? I will answer this question from neutral position: finally, it’s enough for the sides to accuse each other in provocations. Now I have instructed our Minister of Defense to actively use this communication, to exchange information about ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces with the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan, suggesting that the Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan should do the same, so that we can see who responds to the incidents and in what way. And this will make it clearer who is more interested in provocations. If it turns out that both sides are not interested in provocations, much better. I mean, the international approach to this issue is very important, but this does not mean that we will refuse to discuss these issues with Azerbaijan, to speak directly”, Pashinyan said.

He added that there is a possibility of a face-to-face discussion with the president of Azerbaijan in Brussels, and he is ready for that discussion. “But I said that the discussion should have a specific topic. The first topic should be the assessments of the general situation; during that discussion, it should be found out who is interested in destabilizing the situation. If it turns out that neither he nor me are interested, and I can guarantee that we are not interested, it is much better,” Pashinyan said.

 21:05,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. According to unverified data, the 24 servicemen, with whom the communication was interrupted on November 16, have been captured, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyans said in an online press conference.

“You understand that it is not the right thing for me to speak about unverified information, so let’s put it under this conditional title. According to unverified data, a larger number of soldiers were taken prisoner. Some of them, about whom we were thinking as dead, are in fact captured, according to unverified information”, Pashinyan said.

He noted that following the hostilities on November 16, the Armenian side has 6 confirmed victims, 24 + 8 captives.

“These data still need final clarification. There are also reports that there are wounded among the captives, at least one of them was injured not slightly. In other words, he was captured in a situation where he could not resist. Naturally, we are working hard for the return of all of them”, Pashinyan said.

Earlier, the Armenian Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that 13 servicemen were taken prisoner as a result of the actions of Azerbaijan on November 16, and the communication with 24 servicemen was interrupted during the hostilities.

 21:32,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. It’s Armenia who will decide by which roads to ensure the connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan, there is no corridor issue, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, referring to the remark that Azerbaijan interprets the “unobstructed traffic” formulation of the 9^th point of the November 9 declaration as a sovereign corridor.

“If it meant sovereign corridor, it would be written sovereign corridor, particularly, given the fact that the word corridor is already used in that document for Lachin corridor and it’s written that the Lachin corridor is under the Russian supervision. It’s more logical to think that “unobstructed traffic” means not-corridor, exclusion of corridor”, Pashinyan said.

The implementation of the 9th point of the declaration was adopted by the January 11, 2021 statement. The trilateral working group set up on the basis of the January 11 statement with the participation of Azerbaijan stated that the reopened roads will operate within the framework of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries they pass through. “The use of the roads should be based on the parity principle. This means there are two issues. The first is the issue of sovereignty, which has already been announced by the Russian Federation. We have never heard the word corridor from Azerbaijan at working level. It has been recorded by the trilateral working group that it does not exist (corridor issue-edit.). Second, why should something that does not exist be acceptable for us, why should we discuss it at all”, the PM said.

The Prime Minister spoke about Azerbaijan’s policy of blackmail. “They named it the “Zangezur corridor” and say that if Armenia does not provide a corridor, they will get it by war. Armenia must put this fact in front of the international community. And Armenia must show this as an openly aggressive policy of Azerbaijan, which must receive an adequate international assessment”.

At the same time, Pashinyan assured that Armenia is not only ready, but also interested in opening regional communications, noting that Armenia has been under blockade for 30 years, this is an opportunity to unblock. “The next issue is the issue of routes, which also contains quite a lot of nuances. And if that takes place in the sidelines of sovereignty, Armenia says that it’s ready to ensure communication between Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan and it’s Armenia who decides by which road to ensure that link, otherwise, we cannot speak about sovereignty. In other words, Azerbaijan wants to decide how to come in and go out. This is impossible”, PM Pashinyan said.

On the other hand, Armenia is interested in the restoration of railway and road communications. “Yes, Azerbaijan should get a road and a railway. In this case, we are not really talking about Nakhichevan, in this case we are talking about the Turkey-Azerbaijan connection, that is, we are talking about a great international road. I think that Armenia is also interested in that. When we look at Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan, it seems that it is the Azerbaijan-Nakhichevan connection, but it is actually about a new international road. And, naturally, Armenia should be interested in the new international road passing through its territory,” he said.

Pashinyan noted that he does not understand why Armenia should refuse to provide a road, adding that today all countries in the world are struggling for that roads, railways, gas and oil pipelines pass through their territory, in general, cargo transportations through their territory as much as possible. According to Pashinyan, on the contrary, Armenia is interested in the opening of the Turkish railway, it wants Kars-Gyumri railroad to be opened, which can be used also by Armenia to get a railway link not only with Russia, but also with Europe and Iran. “Azerbaijan understands what this means. That is why it is constantly making efforts, including by creating a nervous atmosphere inside Armenia, so that it turns out that Armenia itself is against its unblocking. Do you understand where the absurdity has reached? And today Azerbaijan clearly uses some forces, I do not know where these moods rise from, that we should not provide a road,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister noted that on the other hand, Azerbaijan is developing a corridor logic, and stressed that there is no corridor logic, it simply does not exist.

 21:57,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan emphasizes that Armenia should use Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy against that country itself, Pashinyan said during an online press conference, answering the question of ARMENPRESS.

“Azerbaijan pursues an aggressive policy. Azerbaijan has always pursued an aggressive policy, our task is to stop Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy by using all international levers. By and large, nothing has changed in Azerbaijan’s policy in the last 15 years, and it has become more aggressive after the war. We must use Azerbaijan’s aggression against itself,” Pashinyan said.

Referring to the statements made by the Azerbaijani leadership that “they have returned to Zangezur”, “Zangezur is theirs”, “Armenia is theirs”, Pashinyan noted that it all resembles international hooliganism. “Azerbaijan is trying to make jungle of the region. And we must show that this is an attack on Armenia, sovereignty, independence, statehood, and democracy.

At the Democracy Summit, I will show that there are forces in the region, in the face of Azerbaijan, that want to turn the region into a jungle. International mechanisms must be used against Azerbaijan”, the Armenian PM said.

According to him, this is also a reason why Armenia went to the Hague Court, where the lawsuit against Azerbaijan was quite successful. “Now we are waiting for the preliminary decision of the court. This judicial process is very important, which can create a new basis for Armenia and Artsakh in terms of conflict settlement,” Nikol Pashinyan concluded.

 22:04,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 23, ARMENPRESS. The CSTO is not only a multilateral platform, but also a very strong channel and platform of our strategic relations with Russia, ARMENPRESS reports Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said in an online press conference, answering the question in which cases Armenia can think of leaving the CSTO.

“I do not think that Armenia will consider leaving the CSTO, since I want to emphasize that the CSTO is not only a multilateral platform, but also a very strong channel and platform of our strategic relations with Russia. As a presiding country, we must work for the CSTO to play a proper role in ensuring security in our region”, Pashinyan said.

He noted that some of the CSTO member states signed with Turkey the strategy of the Turkic world, which is a reality that cannot but have an impact. “The next reality is that the RF is the strategic partner of the Republic of Armenia and that partnership is invaluable. I want to emphasize that I highly appreciate the role of the Russian Federation in ensuring Armenia’s security. I highly appreciate the activities of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh. We must state that Russia, being a strategic ally of Armenia, is not an enemy of Azerbaijan, but a friend and ally”, Nikol Pashinyan said. He expressed a desire for Armenia’s allies and partners to use political leverage to protect mutually recognized rights.

“On the other hand, Armenia will not limit itself to various international instances and circles. An attempt is made to oppose the meetings in Brussels and Sochi. There is no contradiction between them, because we cannot refuse the offer of any partner”, Pashinyan said.