The draft statement of the National Assembly “On the Establishment of Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan” is a document of geopolitical adventurism, unilateral concessions, bargaining over national interests, and an uncertain future. Its dissemination in the National Assembly is intended to send the public a new round of disinformation, empty promises, and the peddling of hopes.
It is extremely strange to issue this statement at a time when the President of Azerbaijan continues to act and speak from a position of strength, calling Armenia an aggressor and a war criminal, which contradicts not only the real peace agenda but also the principles articulated by the Armenian authorities regarding negotiations.
At the same time, it should be emphasized that there is a gap between the published texts of the Washington Accords and actual political processes, one manifestation of which is the contradiction between the statements of the head of the ruling power and the US President.
Regarding the specific Washington agreements on the basis of which the draft National Assembly statement was prepared, we reiterate our previously stated position on this issue.
We are deeply concerned by the signing of the trilateral memorandum in Washington, viewing it as yet another dangerous (capitulatory) document signed by the Armenian rulers under pressure from Azerbaijani aggression, unilateral demands, and geopolitical processes.
While commending the peacemaking efforts of US President Donald Trump, it should be noted that by signing this agreement, the adventurous rulers of the Republic of Armenia are dangerously testing Armenia’s sovereignty and sacrificing the rights of the people of Artsakh, legitimizing the ethnic cleansing and homeland deprivation carried out in Artsakh by the Baku regime.
In particular,
1. The memorandum expresses exclusively the interests of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and countries driven by geopolitical contradictions in the South Caucasus, to the detriment of Armenia’s vital and security interests.
2. The Memorandum ignores the mandatory demand for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia.
3. The Memorandum does not include any obligations to release illegally detained Armenian prisoners and military-political leaders of Artsakh held in Baku prisons.
4. Instead of genuine international guarantees of the inviolability, security, and territorial integrity of Armenia’s borders, the agreement contains vague and irresponsible promises.
5. The Memorandum lacks provisions for the protection of property, cultural and spiritual heritage, or the political rights of the Armenians of Artsakh.
6. Armenia’s agreement to the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group—the only internationally recognized negotiating format—is an unacceptable deviation from the well-known principles of conflict resolution, a consequence of Azerbaijan’s clear pressure on official Yerevan and an international justification for the forced displacement of Armenians of Artsakh.
7. The Pashinyan administration’s unilateral attack on Armenian-Russian allied relations without providing realistic alternatives disrupts the military-political balance, which is fraught with new threats and challenges for the state.
8. Like other important documents, the contents of this memorandum are hidden from the public. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia and the National Assembly. Vital decisions cannot be made by a regime that lacks domestic legitimacy.
9. Undoubtedly, the current events in Armenia are the result of the ruling regime’s pathological, anti-state, and anti-popular obsession with self-reproduction at any cost, including through the violation of national and state interests and geopolitical adventurism.
10. Under these circumstances, any document regulating Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, including the Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, cannot contribute to the establishment of a stable and just peace. This will also significantly limit the instruments for ensuring the security and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia and tie the hands of the country’s Foreign Ministry.
Clearly aware of the further challenges arising from this process and assessing the necessary actions in the current situation, we demand:
a) prioritize the immediate release of all Armenian prisoners of war and illegally detained persons arrested by Azerbaijan.
b) withdraw Azerbaijani armed forces from the occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia without any preconditions, without linking this to an unspecified demarcation process.
c) secure the protection of the right of return of the Armenians of Artsakh as an integral part of the process of establishing stability and lasting peace in the region.
d) establish legally binding international security guarantees and realistic mechanisms to ensure territorial integrity.