About normalisation process with Turkey

The Turkish side synchronises the process of normalisation of relations between Yerevan and Ankara with the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation process, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in parliament.

“Unfortunately, although it is said at the verbal and public level that the process has no preconditions, nevertheless, our Turkish colleagues in a certain way synchronise this process with the process that we have with Azerbaijan or make it part of the narrative. Of course, this does not give the process additional constructive value, it does not make the atmosphere more constructive,” he said. According to the minister, negotiations are ongoing, now there is no tangible, significant result. Mirzoyan expressed hope that in the future the parties will be able to achieve similar results. “I can confirm from our side that we are firm and sincere in our publicly presented position. We are interested in opening this border and establishing relations and would like to see the same from the Turkish side. And the Azerbaijani narrative and various gestures of the Turkish Foreign Minister do not contribute to this process,” the minister said.

Answering the question about the possibility of holding the next meeting of the representatives of Yerevan and Ankara in Armenia or Turkey, Mirzoyan noted that he does not attach much importance to the place of meetings. “I do not rule out that at some point, when tangible successes are achieved within the framework of the process, similar meetings will be held in Ankara and Yerevan,” he said.

About the Nagorno-Karabakh issue

“On November 9th, 2020, the President of Azerbaijan recognised the existence of Nagorno-Karabakh, and this is an irreversible fact,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in an interview held on 28 May.

"We can show a document signed by the President of Azerbaijan and in force, and it says that Nagorno-Karabakh exists, and this document is a tripartite statement dated November 9th, 2020. By signing this document, the President of Azerbaijan recognised the existence of Nagorno-Karabakh, and this is irreversible fact," he added. "We can show the official statements of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, in which they reaffirm their commitment as co-chairs. Just last week, the US and France made similar statements on April 19th, 2022. At the December 2021 Summit of the OSCE Foreign Ministers Council in Stockholm, foreign ministers of dozens of countries noted the exceptional role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he stated.

"The OSCE Minsk Group was created not by Azerbaijan, but by the international community, therefore Azerbaijan cannot dissolve it or consider its mission completed. The same international community today declares the existence of the OSCE Minsk Group and notes that there is a Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that needs to be resolved. This is also stated in the aforementioned statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Russia, which was recently stated by the US Ambassador to Armenia, expressing the official position of the United States. Nagorno-Karabakh self-determination remains in effect," FM of Armenia underlined. 

"By the way, Armenia has never had and does not have territorial claims against Azerbaijan. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a matter of law and is perceived by the international community as such. And this was evident at the meeting in Brussels. We stated that the page of the war is closed for us, [it] is problem that needs to be solved politically, diplomatically," Mirzoyan stated.

"We are constantly fixing the position of Armenia. Perhaps, we will repeat once again: the existence of any corridor on the territory of Armenia is excluded. This is not even subject to discussion. Our conversations are exclusively about opening, unblocking roads, transport, and economic communications. As for routes, we… already said before clarifying the routes, we must first agree on the legal norms for the passage of citizens and goods of Azerbaijan through our territory and the passage of citizens and goods of Armenia through Azerbaijan (including Nakhchivan). Although it is obvious that one railway line will pass through Meghri, Ordubad, Julfa, Yeraskh. Now, there is no agreement on the route by road," he concluded

On Azerbaijan’s attitude toward Armenia and the alleged mercenaries from Pakistan and Turkey’s role in conflict

“Armenophobic rhetoric continues… [in] official Baku,” Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated in an interview with the Indian Wion News on 30 May.

"Armenia appreciates India's balanced and stabilising position in these times of global turmoil. The Armenian government considers further strengthening cooperation with the world's largest democracy, India, as one of its strategic priorities. Good relations have been established between our Ministries of Defence, and military-technical cooperation is gradually developing," he continued. "We are interested in developing our dialogue and cooperation within the framework of the projects of the international North-South transport corridor, the port of Chabahar, [and] the Persian Gulf-Black Sea. Armenia considers the potential and promising role of India in this project to be very significant. In this regard, we welcome active participation of Indian companies in Armenia's infrastructure projects,” Mirzoyan added.

"The situation in our region remains unstable and tense. The consequences of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 still affect Armenia and the entire region. Although large-scale hostilities have ceased, many issues remain unresolved," the Armenian FM underlined. "Openly violating the provisions of the Tripartite Statement and international humanitarian law, ignoring the clear calls of the international community, Azerbaijan refuses to release Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees," he flagged. "Another problem is the real danger of destruction, desecration, and distortion of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage in the territories that have come under the control of Azerbaijan," he stated.

"On the part of official Baku, xenophobic rhetoric against Armenians continues. Psychological terror is still being waged against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, for example, in the form of calls through loudspeakers to leave their homes under the threat of coercion or turning off the gas supply in difficult weather conditions. Until now, there are violations of the ceasefire regime. The latest case was the invasion of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on March 24 into the village of Parukh in Nagorno-Karabakh," Armenian Foreign Minister stated. "However, we believe that the solution is peace, not war, and Armenia continues its efforts to establish peace and stability in the region. We have repeatedly stated that we are ready to start negotiations for a comprehensive peace with Azerbaijan, which will also include a comprehensive settlement Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, including the protection of all the rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their final status. If Azerbaijan takes a constructive external approach and refrains from creating obstacles to this process, as it has done many times before, I think we can move forward," he added.

"During the 2020 war, there was information that Pakistani mercenaries supported Azerbaijan. Most of the mercenaries were transferred from the Middle East, which was also confirmed by the intelligence services of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries," he continued. "Terrorism has no place in the modern world, it is reprehensible in all its manifestations. We supported India in the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, and we will continue to do so," Mirzoyan added.

"The border between Armenia and Turkey was closed unilaterally by Turkey in the early 1990s, and there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries. Special representatives have now been appointed for the settlement process, and three meetings have already taken place, in which the parties decided to move forward without any preconditions. We believe that political will and willingness to take concrete steps are needed to reach a settlement. The Armenian side has repeatedly demonstrated both, and we expect the same from the Turkish side. Despite all the risks and fragility, there is an opportunity to usher in an era of peaceful development in our region, and Armenia will continue its efforts to contribute to the realization of this opportunity," he concluded.