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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan responded to the latest statements by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with Armenpress on Wednesday.

Armenpress: Mr. Prime Minister, the Azerbaijani President, in an interview with Azerbaijani broadcasters on January 7, made aggressive statements against the Republic of Armenia. What is your assessment?

Nikol Pashinyan: Perhaps Baku is attempting to form “legitimacy” for escalation in the region. Aggressive statements are being made with expectation that aggressive responses will be made by Yerevan, which would enable Baku to make more aggressive statements, pairing this with distribution of false statements about ceasefire violations by the Armenian Army, in order to develop a “justification” for new escalation in the region. We will not take that path and we will remain committed to the strategy of peace and consistently continue the implementation of the peace agenda. This means that we will apply the language of dialogue and not aggressiveness. We will continue to be focused on delimitation, conclusion of the text of the peace treaty, implementation of the Crossroads of Peace project, humanitarian issues, including the issues of determining the fate of the missing persons.

Armenpress: The Azerbaijani President has accused Armenia of being a fascist state. Does this also fit in the logic you mentioned?

Nikol Pashinyan: Undoubtably, because the calculation is that the reaction will be 'you are the fascist', and the coil I described will start to strain. But there is another approach, for us to take note that in Azerbaijan there is such a perception about Armenia, and try to understand the reasons behind it. On the other hand, it is obvious that in the Republic of Armenia there is likewise such a perception about Azerbaijan. These very mutual perceptions had led to many years of conflict. But the strategy of peace is for us to take note that there is such a perception about us in Azerbaijan, and for them to take note that there is such a perception about them in Armenia. The agenda of peace is about discussing, addressing these perceptions. A part of the agreed-upon articles of the draft peace treaty closes the chapter of a part of these perceptions, while the other parts give the chance to make all mutual negative perceptions part of the bilateral agenda and address them. I’ll add that we have proposed solutions regarding two outstanding articles of the peace treaty, and in case of a positive response by Azerbaijan, we are ready to sign the treaty.

Armenpress: The Azerbaijani President again spoke about the corridor, saying that it must be opened, and it will open. What does this mean?

Nikol Pashinyan: The Republic of Armenia has brought to the table the Crossroads of Peace project and intends to implement it. There is no other project in our agenda. The Crossroads of Peace implies the opening of all transport connections in the region, including Azerbaijan-Azerbaijan through the territory of Armenia, and Armenia-Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan. I already had the occasion to announce that we have made a very concrete proposal to Azerbaijan on opening the Yeraskh-Sadarak-Ordubad-Meghri-Zangelan railway. It is more than a proposal, it is a concrete solution to concrete issues, and we are waiting for Azerbaijan's positive reaction, after which the agreement will be documented on paper and we will commence the construction of our sections of the railway.

Armenpress: What would you say about President Aliyev's latest statement about so-called Western Azerbaijan?

Nikol Pashinyan: Nothing new has been said about this topic for me to have a new response, while I had already responded to the previous statements in my previous interview to Armenpress. I reiterate what I had said.

Armenpress: The Azerbaijani President again spoke about Armenia's armaments, saying it would only lead to new tensions in the region.

Nikol Pashinyan: I have numerously addressed this too. There is not a single element of illegitimacy in the agenda of military reforms of the Republic of Armenia. I have to repeat that the Republic of Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of all its neighbors, including Azerbaijan, and expects the same from Azerbaijan, meaning, a clear and unconditional recognition of the territorial integrity of Armenia. I have also announced that we do not have an objective of militarily returning more than 200 square kilometers of occupied territories of the Republic of Armenia, because the delimitation process allows us to address this issue through peaceful negotiations. With that being said, no one can dispute the right of the Republic of Armenia to have a defensible army.  Regarding concerns about armaments, we also have concerns about Azerbaijan's armaments, and we have heard their concerns. This is the reason why we proposed to Azerbaijan to form a mutual arms control mechanism and we are waiting for their response.

Armenpress: In the past few days Azerbaijan, for several times, accused the Armenian military of violating the ceasefire on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, the Armenian Ministry of Defense denied those accusations and reminded about the proposal to develop a joint mechanism for ceasefire violation investigations. 

Nikol Pashinyan: Of course, the reports about ceasefire violations by our army do not correspond to reality. But in order not to make such situations a reason for regular debates, we proposed to create a joint mechanism to jointly investigate each report about ceasefire violations, and draw joint conclusions. We are waiting for Azerbaijan's response.

Armenpress: President Aliyev also said that the next meeting of the delimitation commissions will take place in January. 

Nikol Pashinyan: Yes, a meeting is planned in January. I am convinced that the positive experience of delimitation of 2024 must be developed in calm, working conditions. We are ready for such work.