11:53, 7 December 2023

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan is attempting to introduce certain items into the agenda to artificially delay the signing of the peace treaty with Armenia and make the process difficult, Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan has said.

“I think Azerbaijan is trying to introduce certain issues into the agenda to perhaps artificially make the signing of the peace treaty difficult,” Simonyan said when asked to comment on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that if Armenia wants to include the issue of the rights of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in the peace treaty, then the rights to return of Azerbaijanis who left Armenia must also be addressed.

“I assess this very negatively. We, and they, know very well what proposals we have conveyed and what we are negotiating about. Speaking about it all the time now creates artificial problems. It’s obvious that we are actually speaking about peace, and not just signing a paper or pretending,” Simonyan said.

The Speaker said that Azerbaijan must reduce its hate speech against Armenians.

“You can’t accuse Armenia of the same, because in Armenia, the opposition and the media are accusing us of being tolerant, of pouring water to their mill. It must be clear that, indeed, after some time, I don’t rule out that some Armenians will go and live in Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijanis will come and live in Armenia, and trade with one another. Yes, we are heading towards peace, peace doesn’t happen anyway else. And the claims that we fought against each other and it is an unsolvable issue for us are unacceptable, because history knows multiple cases. England and France were at war against each other for 116 years, and today they are allies,” Simonyan said.