Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan said that he is prepared to “lower the bar” regarding the status of Artsakh in negotiations on a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.
During a one-hour speech to the Armenian National Assembly on April 13, Pashinyan said that Armenia faces pressure from the international community to slightly lower its claims to Artsakh.
“Today the international community clearly tells us that to be the only country in the world that on a bilateral level does not recognize the territorial integrity of an ally of Turkey, Azerbaijan, is a great danger not only for Artsakh but also for Armenia. Today, the international community again tells us to lower the bar a bit regarding the question of the status of Artsakh, and you will ensure a great international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise, the international community says, do not rely on us, not because we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you,” he said.
Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia is prepared to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. He did not specify whether Artsakh would be included within the borders of Azerbaijan.
“Status in the current situation is not a goal, but rather a means to guarantee the security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh,” he said. “We have said that Armenia has never had territorial claims on Azerbaijan and the Artsakh issue is not a matter of territory but rather a matter of rights. Therefore, we state that for Armenia security guarantees for the Armenians of Artsakh, the guarantee of their rights and freedoms and clarification of the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh are of fundamental importance.”
During an April 6 summit hosted by European Council President Charles Michel in Brussels, Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev agreed to prepare for negotiations on a bilateral peace agreement. The leaders also agreed to launch a joint border commission to demarcate and delimit the Armenia-Azerbaijan border by the end of April.
On March 14, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a list of five principles that it had submitted to its Armenian counterpart several days earlier. The principles included mutual recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual affirmation of the absence of territorial claims to each other and a legally binding obligation not to make such claims in the future, refraining from threatening each other’s security, delimitation and demarcation of the border and unblocking of communication and transport links.
In response, the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced that it had applied to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to “organize negotiations on the signing of a peace agreement” between the two countries.
However, relations with the Minsk Group co-chairs, which include the United States, France and Russia, have been strained due to the war in Ukraine, according to Pashinyan. Therefore, Pashinyan said during his speech on Wednesday that Armenia is prepared to launch bilateral talks, which “in no way prohibits the involvement of the co-chairs in the process,” in order to sign a peace agreement as soon as possible.
The opposition parliamentary factions have been boycotting the National Assembly this week to protest the outcome of Pashinyan’s meeting with Aliyev, which they state will lead to unacceptable concessions to Azerbaijan.
Armenia Alliance deputy Seyran Ohanyan announced during a parliamentary session on Tuesday that the opposition faction would boycott this week’s parliamentary sittings and discussions.
“The recent developments confirm concerns that everything goes according to the Azeri-Turkish agenda. With the so-called peace plan, we prepare our people for new concessions, defeat and humiliation,” Ohanyan said.
Instead of attending National Assembly sittings, the opposition deputies would visit Artsakh and Armenia’s border provinces, Ohanyan said, then placed the flag of Artsakh on the podium.
I Have Honor Alliance deputy Hayk Mamijanyan then announced that his opposition faction would join the Armenia Alliance in the boycott.
All of the opposition parliamentarians, who had also brought Artsakh flags to the National Assembly, then rose and exited the chamber.
The decision to visit Artsakh followed an April 11 interview by Civil Contract Party deputy and parliamentary speaker Alen Simonyan with Azatutyun, during which he stated that he would not visit Artsakh.
“I do not go, so that it does not become an opportunity for a provocation [by Azerbaijan],” he said.
Simonyan lambasted the opposition factions for their decision to boycott the National Assembly after they departed from the chamber.
“If the opposition will not work in parliament, why does it receive a salary, why does it not resign?” Simonyan asked.
Civil Contract Party deputy Hayk Konjoryan also criticized the opposition, stating that their actions can lead to “new provocations” by Azerbaijan.
“The opposition left the chamber and departed for Artsakh, to weave new intrigues, to undertake new provocations against Armenia and Artsakh. You are ready to sacrifice Armenia and Artsakh, for the sake of your madness to seize power,” Konjoryan said.
Upon arriving at the checkpoint along the Lachin corridor to enter Artsakh, the opposition deputies were barred by the Russian peacekeeping forces guarding the border from crossing. Armenian politicians have not previously been prohibited from entering Artsakh by Russian peacekeepers.
Armenia Alliance deputy and chair of the ARF Supreme Body of Armenia Ishkhan Saghatelyan blamed the incident on Pashinyan, accusing him of collaborating with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to prevent their visit.
“Today another criminal arrangement between Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev has been revealed. They very quickly and simultaneously responded to the announcement by the parliamentary opposition deputies that we are going to Artsakh and delivered the names of the politicians going to Artsakh to the checkpoint, demanding that we not be permitted to enter Artsakh,” Saghatelyan said.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry expressed its concern that the Russian peacekeepers did not allow the group to enter Artsakh. The Foreign Ministry said that the action contradicts the trilateral ceasefire agreement ending the 2020 Artsakh War, which “envisages the unimpeded connection of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia through the Lachin corridor.”
“All parties to the statement must strictly adhere to the latter’s letter and spirit, as well as fulfill its obligations,” the statement from the Foreign Ministry reads.
The Armenia Alliance and I Have Honor Alliance organized a rally in Yerevan attended by thousands of people ahead of the trilateral summit in Brussels last week to warn Pashinyan against ceding Artsakh to Azerbaijan.
During the rally, representatives of the ARF placed the flag of Artsakh in France Square.
The Artsakh flag has become a centerpiece of protests by the opposition parliamentary factions in the past weeks.
Some analysts have criticized the use of the Artsakh flag as a protest symbol as a distraction from the grave issues facing the Armenian population of Artsakh.
Prominent Artsakh analyst Tatul Hakobyan called the “war” over flags waged by Armenian politicians a “childish, frivolous and ridiculous struggle” in an online column.
“Today, when Armenia and Artsakh face a hellish choice (due to our adventurous foreign policy, but primarily as a consequence of the 44-day war), instead of offering solutions based on national interests and values, political forces are fighting over symbols and proving their lack of political agendas,” Hakobyan wrote.
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