Mirzoyan: Azerbaijan hasn't constructively responded to Armenia's proposals

Armenia remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan announced at a meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira on Wednesday.

"I am sure you heard about the most recent development regarding the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan: by agreeing to the most recent edition of the draft peace treaty, Armenia paved the way for finalization of the draft text and the negotiations on the draft. We appreciate Brazil’s immediate reaction to this development. So the treaty is ready to sign, and Armenia is ready to sign the Treaty which can become a key pillar in building lasting peace in the region," Mirzoyan said.

He emphasized border delimitation and regional communication as key pillars. Last year, significant progress was made under the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, successfully delimiting and demarcating over 12 kilometers of the border.

"On unblocking regional communications, we have made very concrete proposals to Azerbaijan, which, if implemented, could allow the functioning of the railway, then perhaps lead to broader opportunities for enhanced connectivity. Of course, as you can imagine the topic of connectivity goes beyond the borders of our two countries, and with the vision of both contributing and becoming part of larger logistical routes, Armenia has initiated the “Crossroads of Peace” initiative, a project aimed at achieving an inclusive regional connectivity framework of roads, railways, pipelines, and energy networks," the minister remarked.

"For more predictability and creation of mutual trust, Armenia also put forward constructive initiatives on mutual arms control and verification measures. Regrettably, the mentioned proposals have not been constructively reciprocated by Azerbaijan: we still lack a positive response to the proposals on communication and arms control mechanisms.

"While we have announced the finalization of the draft Peace Treaty, the past several days saw an intensification of the Azerbaijani totally false accusations of ceasefire violations, categorically refuted by Armenia. To reach that desired goal of peace, Armenia’s strong political will should be reciprocated.

"If peace is to be achieved, both sides must commit to fostering an environment of trust and dialogue. In this regard, addressing the unresolved humanitarian issues — such as the release of Armenian POWs and other detained persons would significantly ease the situation," Mirzoyan said.