For us, the co-chairs’ call to refrain from provocative actions and statements is also unequivocally acceptable. This was stated by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on 12 August at the start of the Government’s regular session.
«On July 29, at the Government session, I outlined the Government of the Republic of Armenia’s vision regarding steps to de-escalate the situation in our region, establish long-term stability and peace, and also emphasised the RA’s readiness to work with international partners in that direction. On July 29, the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also issued a statement, the key message of which was the undertaking of steps aimed at reducing tension along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, and the call addressed to Azerbaijan and Armenia to refrain from provocative steps and statements. On July 30, the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement welcoming the co-chairs’ statement, thereby expressing the Republic of Armenia’s commitment to resuming peaceful negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. For us, the co-chairs’ call to refrain from provocative actions and statements is also unequivocally acceptable. It is obvious that maintaining this condition is of key importance for forming a favourable negotiating atmosphere and environment. While the issue of the traceability of provocative statements does not present great difficulty, the question of which side initiates provocative actions and violations of the ceasefire regime gives rise to serious debates», Pashinyan said.
According to him, identifying the side initiating ceasefire regime violations and the targeted condemnation of those provocative actions is of essential importance for the further de-escalation and stabilisation of the situation: «It is difficult to imagine without the activation of an international monitoring (oversight) mechanism. I have said that I believe it should be a CSTO observer mission; if that is not acceptable to the CSTO, the alternative remains an observer mission of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship».
Returning to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship’s call to resume peaceful negotiations with Azerbaijan, Pashinyan emphasised that Armenia is ready to engage in the negotiation process both at a high and the highest level: «We are waiting for concrete proposals. The mandate we received from our people to open an era of peaceful development for Armenia, Artsakh and the region places a special responsibility on the government. To solve this problem, we must be maximally active and flexible. Our mood and disposition should be the following: to do the maximum to reach solutions on the issues on the agenda. Of course, there are issues that can be resolved more quickly. There are issues whose resolution requires more time. One such issue, which I believe can be resolved fairly quickly, is the opening of regional communications, the regional unblocking agenda; I think we should start work as soon as possible in the trilateral format of deputy prime ministers, and be more active and initiative-taking from the perspective of realising new communication and economic opportunities in the region».
Nikol Pashinyan said that their position regarding the delimitation and demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is unequivocal: «We believe that work in that direction should also be intensified».
The Prime Minister noted that the further deepening of the atmosphere of enmity and hostility in our region is inadmissible: «It is a threat not only to our region but also to international security. We saw what manifestations the deepening of the atmosphere of enmity can lead to, in the example of the park opened in Baku, which is an insult to our region and regional civilisation. The deepening or regulation of relations with neighbouring countries will be one of the important directions of the government’s foreign policy. Unfortunately, some forces are trying to present Armenia’s intentions in a false light, saying that the RA has declared reforms of the Armed Forces a priority in the context of pursuing an aggressive policy towards neighbouring countries. The Republic of Armenia, like any peace-loving state, will develop and transform its Armed Forces not for aggression, but for protection from possible aggression; we have no intention of conquering territories; our intention is to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity».
