At a solemn event on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the formation of the Armenian army on January 28, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia has offered Azerbaijan to conclude a non-aggression pact if it turns out that the signing of a peace agreement will take longer than expected. 

"I cannot but touch upon several aggressive statements from different sides, and particularly from Azerbaijan, related to the reforming of the army of the Republic of Armenia, acquisition of weapons and equipment. I have already said that having a strong and combat-ready army is the sovereign right of every country, and no one can question our rights. If anyone questions this right of ours, they question our right to exist. In this case, we will have no choice but to defend our statehood, our independence, our territorial integrity by all possible and impossible means," the head of the government noted.

Pashinyan emphasized that Armenia has no claims to any territory other than its sovereign territory, and no one can have any claims to any territory of the Republic of Armenia. "As I said, we are ready to give such guarantees, strong and irreversible guarantees, but we expect similar guarantees from others. We are ready to go down this path, and, in addition, we have offered Azerbaijan several mechanisms for security guarantees. For example, mirror withdrawal of troops from the administrative border of the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijani SSR. This border, in accordance with the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, became a state border, and on October 6, 2022, in Prague, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed that they recognize each other's territorial integrity on this basis. The mirror withdrawal of troops will allow all territories of the Azerbaijani SSR to be under the control of Azerbaijan and all territories of the Armenian SSR to be under the control of Armenia," the head of Armenia emphasized.

He also pointed to the Armenian side's proposals to Azerbaijan to demilitarize the border, create a mechanism of mutual arms control, and sign a non-aggression pact if it turns out that the signing of the peace treaty will take longer than expected.