News - Armenia opposition MP to PM: What countermeasure do you propose if Azerbaijan starts war tomorrow

The first time you used the phrase "peace agenda" was in 2019, and we were talking about imposing peace; obviously, you could not impose a peace agenda on the enemy. Opposition MP Artur Khachatryan stated this during Wednesday’s question-and-answer session in the National Assembly of Armenia—and addressing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. “The ‘peace agenda’ took on a different meaning from 2021. In 2022, it crystallized: ‘concessions, only if I can keep the 29,800 square kilometers of Armenia.’ In May 2023, you already accepted Azerbaijan's hegemony over Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] without having the right to do so. In his last extensive interview, [Azerbaijani president] Aliyev said that he is not ready to recognize territories, to recognize borders, he is proposing a different regime, he demands the road through [Armenia’s southernmost] Meghri [city], and the regime he demands is no different from the corridor. What solution do you propose in this new situation?" Khachatryan asked. In response, PM Pashinyan said: "The actions and statements you are talking about, their purpose was only related to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia. We have not noticed something that during the entire existence of independence, we have not defined, have blurred Armenia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a fundamental problem. "In these common security challenges, our strategic perception is as follows that all our positions must be based on legitimacy, must be exceptionally legitimate. "As for the announcements coming from official Baku, I have publicly responded to them, and the Crossroads of Peace project [by the Armenian government] includes the answer to your question. In response to our questions, Azerbaijan makes two questions. The first is that if Armenia is not ready to open the roads, then Azerbaijan will make use of the passage through the territory of Iran. The second question is why there should be any inspection processes during the transition from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhichevan, which is 47 kilometers. We answer it like this: Armenia is ready to give that passage under the same conditions as Iran. If the passage through the territory of Armenia is 47 kilometers, it is 49 kilometers through the territory of Iran. If inspection functions can be accepted for 49 kilometers, naturally they cannot be unacceptable for 47 kilometers. Artur Khachatryan responded: "Azerbaijan may start a war tomorrow, says there is no border. A new security situation has been created. What countermeasure exactly do you propose?" And PM Pashinyan reiterated that the important factor for Armenia should be the international legal legitimacy related to its territorial integrity and sovereignty. "You touched on a very important point by saying that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh will be decided without restrictions in the negotiation process. I want to draw your attention to the fact that ‘without restrictions’ also means zero status, including within Azerbaijan. In order to reach that zero status, as of August 2018, the entire content of the negotiation process was arranged in a ‘preparatory situation’ as they say," the Armenian premier said.