Azerbaijan responded two or three days ago to Armenia’s proposals on the draft peace treaty, which is both progress and has brought with it fundamental problems. This was stated by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a press conference held on 14 March.
He enumerated the Armenian side’s perceptions regarding the Azerbaijani proposals: “Azerbaijan is trying, through a possible peace treaty, to formulate territorial claims and aspirations against Armenia, which is understandably a red line for us. With the proposals of that text (document), Azerbaijan is trying to obtain a mandate for ethnic cleansing or genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh, including with the signature of the Republic of Armenia. That, of course, is also a red line,” Pashinyan declared. According to him, Azerbaijan is pursuing a line whereby there would be no system of guarantees for the implementation of a possible peace treaty, which is also a red line for Armenia.
Addressing the question of possible options for the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan stated that a conversation with that content should take place between Stepanakert and Baku: “The processes (developments) lead us to the conclusion that moving forward without international guarantees and mechanisms will not be possible.
In Munich, the President of Azerbaijan said there is an agreement that the issue of guarantees for the rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be discussed. He himself declared this, after which meetings took place, and after those meetings it suddenly became clear that Azerbaijan is proposing to discuss the issue of integration (amalgamation). This is how the terminology changed within a month; the problem is the content and the agreement, and Azerbaijan’s practice of not honouring it,” Pashinyan noted.
