Russian peacekeeping forces at the Lachin Corridor
Armenia will not sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan without negotiating security guarantees for Artsakh, Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan said Friday.
“There is no question that agreements to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue need to be reached,” Grigoryan told Azatutyun.am.
“And our understanding with our international partners is that the peace treaty could be finalized if there is progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, if there are guarantees of ensuring security and rights [for Artsakh Armenians, and if Armenia is certain that there will be no ethnic cleansing in Karabakh,” Grigoryan added.
He explained that such guarantees could include the establishment of a “demilitarized zone” around Artsakh or “international presence” in the region.
Grigoryan also insisted that Yerevan has not discussed the issue of integrating Artsakh with Azerbaijan, a demand set forth by Baku’s representative last week during talks with Artsakh authorities about a solution to the Lachin blockade. Stepanakert rejected such a proposal.
“We have not discussed such an issue. Everyone has publicly said that these discussions are about rights and security, and these are the international agreements, and these agreements must be implemented,” said Grigoryan, referencing several documents signed by the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan, among them the November 9, 2020 agreement.
“Yerevan’s position is to discuss what we have agreed on, that is, rights and security within the framework of the international mechanism,” insisted Grigoryan.
To the observation by Azatutyun.am that, according to Azerbaijan, this may imply integration, Grigoryan emphasized that if the end result is predetermined, then these negotiations will be difficult to move forward, because Artsakh can also announce the end results of its expectations.
“That’s why, in order for the negotiations to take place, it is necessary to create an opportunity for discussions, and it is necessary to stay within the scope of the agreements, because we have agreed to discuss security and rights,” Grigoryan concluded.