22:18, 7 November, 2021
YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gave an interview to the Public TV about the implementation process of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement on the ceasefire in Nagorno Karabakh. Pashinyan said that the first point of the statement relates to the cessation of fire and all military operations. He said that it can be recorded that the war has stopped with that statement. In this respect he highly valued Russia’s and President Vladimir Putin’s contribution to the stop of the war.
“One of the very important points of the statement has been fully implemented, as Russian peacekeepers are deployed in Nagorno Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor, and we highly value their activity and they play a key role today in ensuring security in Nagorno Karabakh. On the other hand, I must regret over the fact that the ceasefire regime is not being fully observed also in Nagorno Karabakh, this has also been recorded by the peacekeepers. I hope that a proper investigation over these cases will be carried out and necessary measures will be taken”, he said, adding that after the November 9 statement the Armenian side had many losses and wounded. “We had nearly 28 losses, especially as a result of the incident in the Khtsaberd-Hin Tagher section, as well as incidents have taken place along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border when we had losses. This fact is very concerning. I must note that we also had cases of military actions, especially in Khtsaberd-Hin Tagher and Sotk-Khoznavar sections which is a gross violation of the trilateral statement. I must state that most of the 40 confirmed captives have been captured after the November 9 statement and have not been released yet despite the point 8 of the statement which clearly says that the prisoners of war, hostages and other persons held must be released”, the PM said.
The next concerning fact, according to Pashinyan, relates to the ceasefire violations on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which is also a gross violation of the statement. Pashinyan said that till today the right of the Armenian residents of Shushi and Hadrut region to return has not ensured yet.
The next problem, Pashinyan said, is that the regional communication has not unblocked yet, although he stated that an important work is being done on this path and expressed hope that they will achieve concrete results soon.
“All this, of course, raises also some concerns, although there is no doubt that the November 9 statement and the deployment of peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh is the cornerstone result that has been recorded. The ceasefire violations, the facts on the killings of our soldiers lead us to a concern that Azerbaijan has adopted a policy of discrediting the activity of the peacekeepers”, he said.
Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan