YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. At the beginning of today’s Cabinet meeting, caretaker Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan commented on the ongoing military-political situation in the region.

“Unfortunately, the military-political situation in our region remains tense. Azerbaijan’s provocative actions and maximalist aspirations create new threats for our region, Armenia and Artsakh”, Pashinyan said, highlighting the key role of Russia in ensuring regional security and stability.

“The joint group of the Armenian and Russian armed forces and the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh are of vital importance for ensuring peace in the region. At the same time, I continue to believe that Azerbaijan aims at thwarting the implementation of the November 9 and the January 11 trilateral statements, in particular relating to the unblocking of regional communications and the blockade of Armenia”, Pashinyan said, adding that Armenia attaches great importance to the opening of these communications and is ready to continue the work on this direction.

“We expect that Azerbaijan will quickly fulfill its verbal commitment on returning captives, hostages and other persons held. Armenia reaffirms its proposal of solving the crisis through the withdrawal of the units of the two sides from the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in mirrored fashion, and the deployment of Russian border guards or international observers along the border, which can create necessary conditions in the direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border demarcation and delimitation. The government of Armenia is committed to fulfilling the mandate gained from the Armenian people on opening a peaceful development era for Armenia, Artsakh and the region in general”, Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that Armenia is ready for the peaceful negotiation process.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan