By Ulviye Filiyeva Erkec
Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia, in his speech at a government meeting, aforesaid that Armenia is waiting for proposals to restart peace meetings with Azerbaijan.
Why it matters: It is an important progress that Pashinyan – who secured his seat for the second time by holding a new round of elections due to political crisis in his country following the war with Azerbaijan – has made a statement about participation in the peace negotiations.
The Prime Minister of Armenia underlined that, in the current stage we are in, the identification of the provocateurs, who initiated the breach of the truce regime, plays an important role in terms of stability and reducing tensions.
“It is hard to imagine such a progress without an international monitoring mechanism. Co-chairmen of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group or the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) were offered to assume this role. On the recommendation of the Co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group, Armenia is ready to return to the peace negotiation process at the highest level. We are waiting for concrete proposals.”
– Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia
What they are saying: On 29 July, Co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group called on Yerevan and Baku to start negotiations without preconditions. In the statement, Co-chairmen of the OSCE Minsk Group; Igor Khovaev (Russia), Stefan Visconti (France), and Andrew Schoffer (USA) called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to reduce tensions and avoid from provocative actions and discourses.
What is the public reaction: A deputy from the Civil Contract Party, which assumes parliamentary power in Armenia, commented on the mediation of Russia, between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
While Andranik Kocharyan, who is a candidate for the chairmanship of the Assembly Defense and Security Committee, answered a question about the conversations between Yerevan and Baku, he said that no documents will be signed without the knowledge of the Armenian National Assembly, and that if necessary, all these will be discussed in the National Assembly.
Flashback: On 9th of August 2021, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister of Armenia, stated that “It is very important for us to start the process of drawing the border with Azerbaijan. Of course, certain conditions must be created for this. I believe that there are political methods to resolve the crisis situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.”, during a meeting with Stanislav Zas, Secretary-General of the CSTO.
- During his visit to Armenia, Secretary-General of the CSTO Stanislav Zas also, with Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan, discussed the issue of supplying modern weapons to the collective forces of the organization.
Background: Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, during his meeting with Armenian Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan on August 11, 2021 in Moscow, aforementioned that, “Russia attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with Armenia in the military field, both in a bilateral format and within the framework of the CSTO. Armenia is an ally and a key partner of Russia in ensuring security in Transcaucasia, and we are extremely interested in maintaining stability in this region. Russia is the only state that provides for the security of the Armenian people in a concrete way, and this is not only limited to Nagorno-Karabakh, but also includes the borders of Armenia.”
- Shoygu also underlined that Moscow is ready to continue to help Armenian army’s modernization and reform.
Expectations: After Azerbaijan won the war to ensure its territorial unity within the framework of international law, Armenia still interprets the situation by declaring that, “Azerbaijan Armed Forces’ presence as illegally in the liberated lands.”.
The fact that Armenia not partaking in the regional development projects proposed by Azerbaijan and Turkey, failing to recognize the territorial unity of Azerbaijan and not complying to the signed agreement’s clauses has further deepened its internal economic and political crisis.
In this case, whether Pashinyan – who has attained power for the second time – is sincere in his statement about the peace negotiations or what his conditions will be demonstrated in the near future.