An Armenia border patrol soldier in Gegharkunik
After Azerbaijan launched a heavy offensive against Armenia on Thursday, Armenia’s foreign ministry blasted Baku accusing its leadership of deliberating derailing mediations efforts by the United States, the European Union and Russia to settle relations between the two countries.
“These repeated violations of one of the fundamental principles of international law – the non-use of force or the threat of force – demonstrate contempt of the Azerbaijani side for the agreements, including the obligations assumed by the Trilateral Statement of Sochi on October 31, 2022,” said the foreign ministry referencing an agreement reached last fall in Russia whereby Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged to respect each other’s territorial integrity.
“Azerbaijan’s actions that are aimed at destabilizing the situation, are also an open disregard for the meeting held in Washington, the meetings planned in Brussels and Moscow, to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and the efforts made by international partners interested in stability and peace in the South Caucasus,” Yerevan said in accusing Baku.
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhum Bayramov, held talks for four days last week in Washington mediate by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. On Sunday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan are scheduled to meet in Brussels to resume talks mediated by Council of Europe President Charles Michel. Yerevan announced Wednesday that Mirzoyan and Bayramov will meet in Moscow on May 19 in discussions hosted by Russia.
Thursday’s massive attack is a continuation of Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy, which has included the blockade of Artsakh since December 12 and cutting off energy supplies to Artsakh. The situation was exacerbated on April 23, when Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint at the Lachin Corridor entrance, effectively blocking all access into Artsakh, including vehicles operated by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian Peacekeeping contingent stationed in Karabakh.
Pashinyan said on Thursday that by launching this latest attack Azerbaijan was aiming to nullify the progress made during the Mirzoyan-Bayramov talks in Washington and has effectively tainted any progress in the upcoming Brussels talks.
He said there was “little chance” that an agreement will be signed in Brussels, adding that despite Thursday’s attack he planned to attend the meeting in the EU’s capital.
“Today’s provocation also seeks to disrupt the trilateral format talks in Brussels on Sunday,” Pashinyan said. “Experience has shown that Azerbaijan needs the negotiations process only for advancing its arguments for escalation and war, while escalations are used exclusively for nullifying any progress achieved in the talks. This is what’s happening now.”
Pashinyan accused Azerbaijan of using lies as a pretext to attack Armenia positions, directly hitting at Baku, which falsely claimed that Armenian sources violated the ceasefire on Wednesday evening.
He also called into question Azerbaijan’s commitment to agreements and statement signed by Aliyev, specifically the ones reached in Prague and Sochi last October, in which Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged to recognize each other’s territorial integrity.
“If Azerbaijan recognizes Armenia’s territorial integrity, then why does it fire on the sovereign territory of our country, especially when the sides should refrain from the use of force or the threat of force under the 2022 Sochi trilateral statement. Today, Azerbaijan again grossly violated these written, public agreements and generally it is difficult to recall any joint document that Azerbaijan hasn’t violated so far,” Pashinyan told his cabinet ministers on Thursday.