Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council, stated in an interview that even before the Sochi summit, the Armenian side tried to demonstrate support for the Russian package of proposals, which touched upon the issue of [separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh. "The Russian side promised us this would happen, but it did not happen. By the way, we wanted it to be indicated that the peacekeepers are deployed in[unrecognized] Nagorno-Karabakh. However, this was not included in the final statement," he added. At the same time, he noted that the Armenian side would continue to work and try to achieve success in this matter with the Russian Federation. "As the Prime Minister has already stated, the Armenian side is ready to sign a document extending the period of stay of peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh for 10, 15, or more years. The Russian side understands it is worth working in this direction and trying to find solutions," Grigoryan emphasized.

Asked if Russia promised to work with Azerbaijan, Grigoryan said that negotiations are not about making promises but rather about discussing approaches. "Armenia has presented its approaches and expectations and expects the Russian side to try to work to make them a reality. The Russian side has publicly announced that it has good proposals for the Armenian side, and the Armenian side fully supports this agenda. Here, Russia's task is to implement these proposals. And here, it is very important to understand that the proposal is one thing, and their implementation is another," he stressed. At the same time, the Secretary of the Security Council stated that Armenia would continue to work with all its partners with the same intensity in finding solutions and bringing long-term peace to the region. "We will work with our partners to understand the most likely option. Armenia will continue to work to create such guarantees and mechanisms that will ensure the security and rights of the Armenians living in Karabakh in the long term," he added.

Answering whether deploying another peacekeeping contingent in [the separatist] Nagorno-Karabakh by other forces that can negotiate with Azerbaijan is acceptable for Yerevan, Grigoryan said that the issue of protecting security and rights is a priority for Yerevan. "How this protection will be carried out is a secondary question. The priority is the issue of security mechanisms, their reliability, and their long-term viability. And we are working in this direction," the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council said, adding that the Armenian side did not discuss these topics with any other partners.

Armen Grigoryan stressed that the Armenian side is determined and ready to conclude a peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of the year. "If Azerbaijan shows the will and desire, we will have a peace treaty by the end of the year, and if it does not, we may not," he added. Answering the question about what the expanded proposals of Azerbaijan are, he explained that this is a more detailed version of the known five points. "We have done professional work to make it a document close to the framework of the peace treaty. A large amount of work was required on the version we received. We held it and are now ready to continue negotiations on a peace treaty," he said.

The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia stated that there is no issue with the corridor logic. "If the Azerbaijani side is sincere, the unblocking can be done within 1-2 days if they do not put forward demands in the corridor logic. If we do not decide, then they are being insincere, which means that the assertions that 'we do not demand anything transterritorial' do not correspond to reality. Publicly they say so, but in practical processes, they require mechanisms that can assume such logic, which, of course, is rejected on our part. The process is hardly moving forward," he added. 

Noting that the checkpoints from the Armenian side have not yet been built, the Secretary of the Security Council recalled that the government is considering the issue of opening three checkpoints. "Parameters are being coordinated. In case of agreement, in a very short period, the Armenian side may have the ready-made infrastructure for unblocking," he explained. In this regard, Grigoryan emphasized the importance of the fact that the whole process should proceed on the principles of reciprocity. "This does not mean that the unblocking is only about Armenia. The ninth paragraph of the statement of November 9 [2020] states that all economic infrastructures, which also include roads, are being unblocked," he added,

Answering the question of whether Armenia is alone in the anti-corridor issues within the tripartite group on unblocking communications, Grigoryan said that Armenia is alone in many matters. "In many issues, Armenia is, yes, alone, and this is the problem of all the processes taking place in these formats," he added.

The Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia announced the need for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the territory of Armenia, which should be carried out as a result of the delimitation of the border. "We raise this issue with all our international partners, and we will continue to work for a result," he said. In this regard, Grigoryan noted that for Armenia and its partners, the priority is the desire to resolve issues through diplomacy. "We will continue to work in this direction. The international community has many tools at its disposal. They can be applied in various ways," he said, stressing that under the Alma-Ata agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, there is a clear border that has administrative force. Regarding the tools' effectiveness, the Secretary of the Security Council explained that there is a comprehensive toolkit for this. "The reforms in the army carried out in Armenia, intensive foreign policy, the presence of EU civilian observers, and many other tools form certain guarantees, but these are not 100% guarantees," he said, adding that this is why Armenia continues to actively work with all partners in an attempt to find solutions.

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