Pashinyan eyes a peace deal with Azerbaijan before 2023

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Oct 2022 18:05

Armenia's Prime Minister puts down that border delimitation projects would be completed before signing the peace treaty.

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia's Prime Minister

Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian Prime Minister, said Wednesday that he looks to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan by the end of the year.

"I would like it [a peace treaty] to be signed before the end of this year. How realistic is this? I would answer this question as follows. I and the government will make every possible effort to make this a reality," Pashinyan told lawmakers in the Armenian parliament, adding that border delimitation projects would be completed before signing the peace treaty.

He announced that Yerevan will initiate a meeting of CSTO leaders to discuss the situation on the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, waiting for a clear assessment of the situation.

"As you know, we appealed to the CSTO, and a decision was made at the meeting of the Collective Security Council, as a result of which a group arrived in Armenia and assessed the situation on the spot. And now we will soon initiate an extraordinary meeting of the Collective Security Council to discuss this report. I hope that this meeting will be held as soon as possible," Pashinyan said.

He further stressed that the Armenian government and society are expecting the CSTO to provide a clear political assessment of the events on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the adoption of a roadmap to restore the territorial integrity of Armenia.

The Armenian President will be traveling to Russia next week for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev according to Russian news agencies.

"There is an invitation from the Russian President to hold a tripartite meeting in Sochi on October 31. I have confirmed my participation," Pashinyan said, adding that he's not sure if Azerbaijan will be attending or not.

The three presidents will be discussing issues pertaining to "stability and security" in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Preparations are taking place for such a tripartite meeting, it will take place, but we will inform you later of the place and the date," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Earlier this month, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov discussed the matter of a peace treaty in a meeting in Geneva.

Over the past 30 years, Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars, with the latter working to gain control over Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely Armenian territory.

In the 2020 conflict, which lasted for 6 weeks, over 6,500 troops died from both sides, and it ended with a Russia-mediated ceasefire.