Nikol Pashinyan rejected Aliyev's demand for disarmament and responded to other claims

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, responded to the statements made by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the day before. In an interview with Armenpress, he stated that Baku is trying to "legitimize" the escalation in the region. Aggressive statements are being made with the expectation that Yerevan will respond aggressively, which would allow them to "justify" a new escalation in the region.

“We will not go down that path and will stick to a peaceful strategy. We will continue focusing on demarcation, on agreeing on the text of a peace treaty, on implementing the ‘Crossroad of Peace’ project, and on humanitarian issues, including the problem of clarifying the fate of missing persons,” Pashinyan noted.

Regarding Aliyev’s accusations that Armenia is a fascist state, Pashinyan remarked that Yerevan would not respond in the same manner. At the same time, “such a perception of Azerbaijan also exists in the Republic of Armenia. These mutual perceptions have led to a years-long conflict,” he said. The peace agenda is aimed at eliminating these perceptions. Some of the agreed articles of the peace treaty close the chapter on such perceptions, while other parts provide an opportunity to completely eliminate them, Pashinyan believes.

As for the unresolved points of the treaty, Yerevan has proposed its solution, and in case of Azerbaijan’s approval, Armenia is ready to sign the agreement, the Prime Minister emphasized. On Aliyev’s statement about the Zangezur Corridor, Pashinyan said that Armenia is proposing the “Crossroad of Peace” project and is ready to implement it. “The Crossroad of Peace” involves the opening of all transportation communications in the region.

“We made a concrete proposal to Azerbaijan regarding the opening of the railway from Yerevan-Sadarak-Orduabad-Meghri-Zangilan. This is a specific solution to specific issues, and we are waiting for a positive response from Azerbaijan. Once an agreement is reached, we will begin constructing our sections of the railway,” Pashinyan said.

Commenting on Aliyev’s statement about "Western Azerbaijan," the Prime Minister said he had already responded to these statements earlier. As for the armament of Armenia, Pashinyan stated that the reform of Armenia’s army is being carried out legally. “Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of all its neighbors, including the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and expects the same from Azerbaijan. We do not aim to return more than 200 square kilometers of occupied Armenian territories by military means, as the demarcation process offers an opportunity to resolve this issue peacefully. No one can dispute Armenia’s right to have a defensive army,” Pashinyan emphasized.