Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of «preparing the genocide of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh» and said that Baku’s actions pose «a threat to security» in the South Caucasus region.
Pashinian has claimed that the Azeri authorities have on numerous occasions violated the trilateral agreements – signed with Russia – in November 2021 and October 2022 to set a ceasefire and open the door to peace, Armenian news agency Armenpress has reported.
Thus, he stressed that Azerbaijan’s actions «are not only a violation of the aforementioned trilateral communiqués, but a preparation for the genocide of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh,» a statement that comes amid bilateral efforts to sign a peace agreement.
«Azerbaijan illegally occupied the settlements of Jtsaberd and Hin Tagher in Nagorno Karabakh in violation of the trilateral communiqué of November 2020, according to which a full ceasefire agreement was set and all hostilities in the conflict zone were stopped,» he has explained.
The Armenian Prime Minister also denounced a similar Azeri operation in March 2022, when they occupied areas where Russian peacekeepers were deployed, before stressing that Baku «violates the ceasefire on an almost daily basis».
In this regard, he criticized that the Azeri authorities have not taken steps for «a visible dialogue» with Yerevan and pointed out that Baku «tries to present itself constructively and convey that the rights and security of the citizens of Nagorno Karabakh are guaranteed».
«To what extent this statement is true can be demonstrated in practice by checking the conditions created by Azerbaijan and the steps it has taken for the safe return of thousands of residents of Hadrut and other Armenian-populated territories in Nagorno-Karabakh who were displaced by the 44-day war in 2022,» he said.
Thus, he has reiterated that «Azerbaijan has not taken any step on this path» and reminded that Russian troops should remain deployed in the area for five years, according to the 2020 agreement, with an «automatic extension for five-year periods.» «I repeat. Automatic extension,» he has stressed.
«This, in fact, means that the peacekeeping troops are deployed indefinitely in Nagorno-Karabakh until all issues related to the rights and security of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh are addressed and all security issues are resolved,» he has noted.
Pashinian has further outlined that Yerevan has submitted a proposal to create a three-kilometer deep demilitarized zone on both sides of the border set in 1991. «The proposal is standing and yesterday we delivered an updated version to Azerbaijan. I insist that the Azeri Armed Forces must withdraw from all occupied parts on sovereign territory of Armenia, a position we will never change,» he has explained.
On the other hand, he has charged Azeri President Ilham Aliyev for a speech on Tuesday which, in his opinion, was full of «indirect threats to the international community and direct threats against Armenia.» The speech was given after a meeting of foreign ministers in the United States at which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was present.
At the meeting, the foreign ministers of the two countries agreed to «accelerate negotiations» to try to reach a peace agreement after their recent clashes and have agreed to organize another meeting «in the coming weeks», according to a joint communiqué issued after the meeting in Washington.
For its part, the Armenian Defense Ministry has denounced during the day that a soldier has been «seriously» wounded by an Azeri attack against a «combat position» in the border area, according to a brief statement published on its website.
Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a ceasefire on September 15 and in early October agreed to commit to the UN Charter and the 1991 Alma Ata Declaration, through which both countries recognize each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Following this, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian stressed before Parliament that he expects the peace treaty with Azerbaijan to be signed before the end of the year.
The two countries have been involved in several clashes in recent years over the control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory with a majority Armenian population that has been the focus of conflict since it decided to separate in 1988 from the Soviet Union-integrated region of Azerbaijan.
