During the official visit to Croatia on January 19, Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ararat Mirzoyan, met with Gordan Grlić Radman, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, the Armenian Foreign Ministry reports. The initial one-on-one meeting was succeeded by a broader meeting involving the delegations from both nations. After the discussions, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Croatia conducted a joint press conference.

Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan affirmed Armenia’s sincere engagement in negotiations with Azerbaijan and expressed a strong interest in achieving enduring peace in the region. He made these remarks during a joint news conference in response to a question from a journalist of the Croatian public television about peace efforts.

“We believe that this will be beneficial not only for the people of Armenia but for the countries in the region. However, we see that our constructiveness sometimes does not meet the same constructive approach in the behavior of our neighbors. We have been engaged in negotiations by facilitation of the European Union, among other facilitators, and nowadays, we see that Azerbaijan, unfortunately, refuses to resume the negotiations in the existing frameworks. However, we are interested in continuing our negotiations. As I said, we attach importance not so much to the issue of who facilitates the negotiations but to the principles according to which the negotiations should continue. In this context, I would like to emphasize that those are territorial integrity, recognition of legitimate borders, inviolability of borders, and respect for each other’s sovereignty. These are the principles, according to which, I believe, peace should be agreed,” Mirzoyan said. 

Mirzoyan further emphasized that the peace treaty must establish transparent foundations for the delimitation process, aligning with the Alma-Ata Declaration and using the most recent and legitimate maps from the Soviet Union era. He mentioned the importance of unlocking connectivity in the region and developing economic and transportation infrastructures, which can contribute significantly to advancing lasting peace.

Armenian FM also expressed gratitude for the support and commitment the European Union and Croatia showed in ensuring security along the border in their region. He specifically mentioned the EU's Monitoring Mission and appreciated Croatia and other EU countries for addressing the urgent needs of refugees who had to flee Nagorno-Karabakh due to a military operation in September 2023.