On May 26, Aykhan Hajizada, the Spokesperson of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, criticized Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements at the Yerevan Dialogue forum, questioning Armenia’s commitment to peace and its stance on the Minsk Group.
Hajizada emphasized that Pashinyan’s refusal to amend Armenia’s Constitution to remove territorial claims and his reluctance to dissolve the Minsk Group raise serious doubts about Armenia’s willingness to resolve the conflict. He pointed out that Azerbaijan has called for the disbandment of the Minsk Group, as the conflict it addressed has been resolved following the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from Armenia’s 30-year occupation. Hajizada described Armenia’s claim that dissolving the Minsk Group would shift the conflict onto Armenian territory as manipulative, indicating that Armenia does not consider the conflict resolved.
He also rejected the Armenian Prime Minister’s "Western Azerbaijan" narrative as a distortion of facts and stressed that references to the Western Azerbaijan Community pertain to human rights and the peaceful return of Azerbaijanis displaced by ethnic cleansing, not territorial ambitions.
Regarding regional communication routes, Hajizada stated that Azerbaijan supports unimpeded transit aligned with regional cooperation and economic integration, while Armenia’s resistance and proposals for complex transit paths hinder progress and contradict its public commitment to cooperation.
Hajizada concluded that for lasting peace, Armenia must amend its Constitution to remove territorial claims and support the Minsk Group’s dissolution without preconditions, emphasizing that Azerbaijan’s demands are legitimate steps toward regional peace and stability.
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