Monday, June 5 2023 11:32

ArmInfo. By and large, Armenia welcomes the EU-brokered Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders' meeting in  Chisinau, Moldova, June 1, as an opportunity for pushing ahead with the peace agenda, Armen Grigoryan. Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, said in an interview with Armenia's Public TV. 

He highlighted the importance of the international community's  assistance to the Yerevan-Baku peace agenda. 

The meeting discussed all the issues on the agenda - from unblocking  and border delimitation and demarcation to the settlement of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and humanitarian issues. In this context,  Mr Grigoryan stressed that Armenia focuses its attention on a need  for international mechanisms and discussion of security and human  rights issues between Baku and Stepanakert. 

Mr Grigoryan believes some progress was made at the negotiations -  discussions clarified some points.

"However, until all issues are resolved, we cannot say that these  discussions were productive. These were very important discussions  aimed at resolving the issues I have outlined above," Mr Grigoryan  said.

Some progress was made on the basis of the maps of 1975. "We cannot  say the issue has been resolved, but some progress has been made," he  said.  

"I am sure that if we make progress in humanitarian issues, that is,  if all the prisoners are released, we will get the information on the  missing people and discover their fate, as well as in the issues  related to the removal of the blockade, Nagorno-Karabakh, that is the  Stepanakert-Baku dialogue, and discussions, that is, security and  rights must be discussed in this format. I think we are moving  forward, Mr Grigoryan said. 

As to whether the parties are drawing closer to a peace agreement, he  said that a similar meeting is to take place in Granada this October.  Moreover, the foreign ministers are to hold a meeting on June 12.  Intense negotiations are in progress, and a peace agreement could be  signed by the end of this year provided the international community  strongly supports the process. 

"We are inclined to doing it as soon as possible. We are looking  forward to a solution and pushing ahead with the peace agenda in the  context of these decisions and signing a peace agreement," Mr  Grigoryan said. 

Armenia is consistently implementing all the reached agreements in  different negotiation formats, including the agreements on release of  prisoners. 

As to Armenia's position on unblocking, Mr Grogiryan said that  Yerevan has not changed its position since 2020. 

"We are following three fundamental principles of unblocking:  sovereignty, jurisdiction and reciprocity.  Unblocking could follow  this logic because, as you know, Armenia has for a long period been  pressed in various ways into finding a solution going beyond the  principles in question," Mr Grigoryan said. The reason for  Azerbaijan's aggression last September was, among other things, to  push the issue through.  Railway communication will be unblocked  following this logic as well, which, first of all, requires political  will. 

"A most important agreement has been reached on unblocking as well.  Only Armenian frontier guards will serve," Mr Grigoryan said. 

As to whether the parties have reached compromise on the issue, Mr  Grigoryan said Armenia's position is very clear and the parties have  taken it into account and are hopeful the other partners will follow  this principle as well. 

As to whether Mr Grigoryan remains committed to his stance he stated  a month and a half ago, namely, that it is up to Russia to decide on  its presence and level of its presence in the region, he gave a vague  answer, saying it is primarily Russia that should elucidate the  issue. 

However, the Armenian side is very concerned over the crisis over  Nagorno-Karabakh, that is, the blockader of the Lachin corridor. 

"We see the statements on the Lachin corridor of November 9, 2020,  are not being implemented in any way, which is a reason for our wish  to invite international observers to the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-  Karabak to neutralize the threat of ethnic cleansing," Mr Grigoryan  said.  

As to how much a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue is realistic amid the  Azerbaijani leadership's threats and blockade of Artsakh, Mr  Grigoryan gave assurances it is possible, as no alternative is  available. he hopes for more effective international support.