Armenia categorically denies accusations of breaching ceasefire, reiterates commitment to peace

Armenia remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said.

“Today we exchanged views on international developments and tendencies. I briefed Minister Vieira on Armenia’s expanding partnerships, be it the strategic partnership with the United States or deepening of cooperation with the European Union,” FM Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint press conference with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira. “Of course, we also spoke about regional issues. While we witness uncertainties and security challenges across many regions, Armenia has faced many security challenges firsthand, and the South Caucasus has seen many confrontations. Yet, my country remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus. I am sure you heard about the most recent development regarding the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan: by agreeing to the most recent edition of the draft Peace Treaty, Armenia paved the way for finalization of the draft text and the negotiations on the draft. We appreciate Brazil’s immediate reaction to this development. So the Treaty is ready to sign, and Armenia is ready to sign the Treaty which can become a key pillar in building lasting peace in the region.”

"Other pillars are the border delimitation and unblocking of regional communication. Last year we made significant progress in border delimitation based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, having successfully delimited and demarcated over 12 kilometers of the borderline," he added. 

FM Mirzoyan said that Armenia has made concrete proposals to Azerbaijan on unblocking regional connections, which, if implemented, could allow the functioning of the railway, then perhaps lead to broader opportunities for enhanced connectivity. 

“Of course, as you can imagine the topic of connectivity goes beyond the borders of our two countries, and with the vision of both contributing and becoming part of larger logistical routes, Armenia has initiated the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, a project aimed at achieving an inclusive regional connectivity framework of roads, railways, pipelines, and energy networks. For more predictability and creation of mutual trust, Armenia also put forward constructive initiatives on mutual arms control and verification measures. Regrettably, the mentioned proposals have not been constructively reciprocated by Azerbaijan: we still lack a positive response to the proposals on communication and arms control mechanisms. While we have announced the finalization of the draft Peace Treaty, the past several days saw an intensification of the Azerbaijani totally false accusations of ceasefire violations, categorically refuted by Armenia. To reach that desired goal of peace, Armenia’s strong political will should be reciprocated. If peace is to be achieved, both sides must commit to fostering an environment of trust and dialogue. In this regard, addressing the unresolved humanitarian issues — such as the release of Armenian POWs and other detained persons would significantly ease the situation.”