11:52, 9 May 2023

YEREVAN, MAY 9, ARMENPRESS. Armenia and Azerbaijan haven’t made progress around the most important issues in the negotiations, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan said on Tuesday.

He said that these most important issues concern the acknowledgment of the 29,800 square kilometers of Armenia’s sovereign territory and creation of an international mechanism for Stepanakert-Baku talks and international guarantees.

“Today, we can’t even preserve elements of the 9 November trilateral statement, because, for example, Azerbaijan must not be present in the Lachin Corridor under this statement, but it is there at this moment. It’s highly important for us to have international guarantees or an institute of guarantors for resolving such issues. So that everyone adheres to all agreements,” Grigoryan said.

Speaking about the latest Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in Washington D.C., Grigoryan did not disclose details but said that some progress has been made, albeit not over the most fundamental issues.

Mentioning the upcoming talks in Brussels, he added that Armenia will try to bring the approaches closer to one another as much as possible and move forward.

Grigoryan also commented on Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s remarks on the Nemesis monument in Yerevan. He said that the Turkish FM’s comments are inappropriate. “This is Armenia’s internal affair, and no one has the right to interfere,” he said. Grigoryan reiterated that Armenia wants to normalize relations with Turkey without preconditions.