Rubinyan's polemic with Hajiyev in Antalya confirms the existence of serious contradictions between Baku and Yerevan

On Friday, March 1, the Antalya Diplomatic Forum opened in Antalya, Turkiye. Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan and Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev spoke at the panel discussion on "Peace, Development and Connectivity in the South Caucasus". The moderator asked the speakers: at what stage are the peace negotiations on a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia after the recent meeting of the leaders of the two countries in Munich and the foreign ministers in Berlin?

Answering this question, Rubinyan said that Armenia is ready for peace and is doing everything to consolidate the agreed principles in the peace treaty. It should be based on the principles of mutual recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan, in accordance with the Almaty Declaration and on its basis the implementation of the delimitation and demarcation of borders. Armenia also supports the opening of regional communications based on the principles of respect for sovereignty, jurisdiction, equality and reciprocity.

Yerevan's position is that Armenia has no territorial claims against Azerbaijan. There are 2 agreed provisions in the draft peace treaty that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity, do not have and will not have territorial claims against each other in the future

In turn, Hikmet Hajiyev replied that the peace treaty should have a real content and be concluded between Baku and Yerevan, and not with Brussels and Paris. The peace treaty must be viable and Azerbaijan has questions in this regard. The Armenian Constitution still contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan and calls for reunification with Karabakh ("miatsum"). This also contradicts the Almaty Declaration, which Yerevan refers to, Hajiyev noted.

In addition, "geopolitical intrigues" are taking place in the region of the South Caucasus, which only complicate the situation and have the goal of creating "new dividing lines". In this regard, Baku has questions about the European Observer Mission and plans for the militarization of Armenia, Hajiyev noted.

In response, Rubinyan said that it is not necessary to refer to the domestic legislation of Armenia, this "does not mean a violation of the provisions of the peace treaty." He also noted that Armenia is not militarizing, but only strengthening its defense. "Armenia fears for its security because of Azerbaijan, and has the sovereign right to build its defense," Rubinyan said.

"We propose to consolidate our obligations in the peace treaty and commit ourselves to recognize each other's territorial integrity.  However, we do not see the same readiness on the part of Azerbaijan," Rubinyan said.

To this, Hajiyev said that Baku has reason to doubt the sincerity of Yerevan, because after the end of the 2020 war, for three years Armenia refused to recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. This was the reason for the military operation in September 2023 in Karabakh.

As for the comment on interference in the domestic legislation of Armenia, it is about how much this legislation concerns Azerbaijan. The Declaration of Independence of Armenia, its constitution and the documents submitted by Armenia to international courts against Azerbaijan contain claims to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Hajiyev stressed.