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ASHGABAT, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan has said he sees an opportunity for Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace treaty by the end of the year.
Armenpress’s Davit Mamyan asked President Khachaturyan during his visit to Turkmenistan on the likelihood of Yerevan and Baku signing a peace deal before COP29 in conditions when Azerbaijan is regularly threatening Armenia and making new demands.
The Armenian President said it is highly desirable for the two countries to sign the peace treaty before the COP29 in Baku, but it could happen also after it by year-end. “But in nearer timeframes, perhaps after COP29, by the end of the year, we will have the opportunity to sign a peace agreement, because the main content thereof is understandable for both sides,” the president said, noting that everything doesn’t come easy neither in life nor in politics.
“We should patiently advance our ideas, even against the backdrop of the statements that very much concern us and our society. We are trying to respond to all of that with the kind of steps that will not escalate the situation but which are aimed at the establishment of peace,” President Khachaturyan said.
Khachaturyan reiterated the Armenian government’s offer to sign the peace treaty with Azerbaijan as soon as possible.
“But some issues are being brought in by Azerbaijani side resulting in everything getting delayed. But what has been done during the past years and what we have achieved now, and, are seemingly in the final phase, didn’t come easy,” Khachaturyan said.
The steps made in the direction of establishing peace have been the result of a long-term and detailed work, and the work continues, he said.
“There is no alternative to peace, Armenia doesn’t have any desire for war, despite such statements being made from the opposite side claiming that we are preparing for such actions. We are people living in the Republic of Armenia, and we all see that we are actually engaged in other work aimed at increasing the defensibility of our country. At the same time, of course we are engaged in solving the daily issues, and issues in the economy. We must definitely continue our policy of establishing peace, and the steps that are being done today are aimed at this. As to what extent this will succeed, I wouldn’t want to make predictions now, and there is no need for that, because eventually it will lead to a result, and we will be able to achieve living in peaceful, good-neighborly relations with all neighboring countries,” the Armenian President said.
The President said that what’s happening in South Caucasus and beyond is a reminder that it is better to achieve final peace albeit as a result of a lengthy process than not deal with it and one day wake up in war.
“It is a daily work of the government officials, a priority, it consumes resources, but after all, that’s what we are for, in order to resolve those issues,” the President said.