Armenia needs strong security guarantees – IPHR’s Simon Papuashvili on Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal

Simon Papuashvili, Programme Director for Eastern Europe & South Caucasus at the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), believes that only the possible signing of a peace agreement could prevent further Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia.

In an interview with Armenpress in Brussels, Papuashvili stated that the regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly demonstrated in recent years that it disregards its international obligations.

“I am skeptical about any peace deal that can be reached with Azerbaijan at the moment. Aliev's regime has repeatedly shown their disregard for international legal commitments in the recent past, and I highly doubt that a peace agreement can stop them from initiating further aggression against Armenia. Instead I believe that what Armenia needs is strong security guarantees from its European allies that should include reinforcement of Armenia's defensive military capabilities to deter further Azerbaijani aggression. We will live in a world in which brute force is the only effective language that works in international affairs,’’ Papuashvili said.

On March 13, the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced that negotiations on the peace treaty had been concluded.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proposed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to begin consultations on the time and venue for signing the agreement. However, Azerbaijan is setting preconditions for signing the treaty. In particular, Baku insists on the false claim that Armenia’s Constitution allegedly contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan, demanding constitutional amendments as a precondition for signing the agreement. Another Azerbaijani precondition pertains to the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group.

In parallel with these preconditions, Azerbaijan has been spreading false claims for several days, alleging that Armenian armed forces have been firing at Azerbaijani positions along various sections of the border.