Finalizing terms of peace agreement with Azerbaijan wasn’t easy, says Armenian lawmaker

The signing of the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan would be one of the phases of the peace process, MP Arman Yeghoyan has said.

“The peace agreement is a part of the peace process, a primary and necessary part,” Yeghoyan, representing the Civil Contract party, told reporters in parliament. “It is already a fact that the text of the peace agreement has been finalized, both sides have accepted this. And this fact alone is already a diplomatic achievement for us. Of course, Azerbaijan’s approaches are not constructive in this phase. But this doesn't devalue our efforts, our achievements in the negotiations around the peace agreement,” Yeghoyan said.

He stressed that finalizing the text of the agreement wasn’t easy. The negotiations lasted for three years.

“Lengthy discussions took place in respective bodies in Armenia around every comma in that text. And we analyzed every sentence and every word from all possible sides, also comparing with geopolitical developments. And today, we’ve reached that result. You can see the rest, you can see how Azerbaijan has been reacting. But you also have to note how others have been reacting to Azerbaijan’s reaction. This is also important,” the MP said.

The success in the peace process depends, among others, how the international community would react to the talks, as well as the Azeri reactions. “If we look at it from this perspective then we are on the right track now,” he said.

The governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan announced on March 13 that the negotiations around the peace treaty have been successfully concluded. The Armenian government has expressed readiness to start discussions with Azerbaijan around the date and location for signing the agreement.  Meanwhile, Azerbaijan made preconditions for signing it, including a demand to change the Armenian constitution by falsely claiming it contains territorial claims, as well as disbanding the OSCE Minsk Group. Baku also launched a fake news campaign falsely accusing Armenia of border shootings.