Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today attended a trilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Moscow. The parties discussed the implementation of the provisions specified in the joint statement signed by the leaders of the three countries on November 9, 2020.
Nikol Pashinyan first thanked the Russian side and personally Vladimir Putin for their consistency in establishing a ceasefire, deploying peacekeeping troops in the region, promoting the settlement of the conflict, restoring peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and providing conditions conducive to normal life for Artsakh-based Armenians.
The Premier stressed that the repatriation of POWs and the search for missing persons are of paramount importance to the Armenian side. In his words, the full implementation of the agreements reached on the above issues will create prerequisites for promoting economic exchanges and developing transport communications.
Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that the November 9 statement came in the aftermath of the war, and its provisions are only part of those fundamental principles developed under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia emphasized that some of the basic provisions and principles, which have not been implemented yet, cannot be ignored. According to Nikol Pashinyan, only political-diplomatic efforts based on the “principles” of international law, in particular, respect for and protection of the right of nations to self-determination, can pave the way for addressing the causes and consequences of the war.
“Only they can bring lasting peace and harmony to the region, based on the goals set out in the UN Charter. Armenia is prepared to follow up the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, based on such fundamental principles and elements as were not reflected in the November 9 statement,” Nikol Pashinyan said, highlighting the Artsakh people’s right to self-determination, the de-occupation of those territories occupied by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, the provision of conditions necessary for the safe return of Artsakh-domiciled Armenians to their homes, as well as the preservation of religious and cultural assets.
The Prime Minister of Armenia condemned the breach of the provisions of the November 9 statement, the provocative actions carried out on the frontline, stressing the need to withdraw terrorist groups from the territories occupied by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and its adjacent areas.
The leaders of the three countries made statements for the press. Prime Minister Pashinyan stated in his remarks:
“Vladimir Vladimirovich,
First, let me thank you for all the efforts you are making to restore stability and security in our region and to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Unfortunately, this conflict has not been settled even up to this day. Of course, we have ensured a ceasefire, but many issues are still outstanding and must be resolved. One is the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and we, Armenia, are certainly ready to continue the talks as the co-chairs in the OSCE Minsk Group, in part, on this issue.
Unfortunately, today we have not settled the issue of prisoners of war, and this is the most sensitive and serious issue because it is a humanitarian issue and we agreed to continue working in this area. But we believe that unfortunately item 8 of our joint Statement, for instance, is not being fully carried out, and I hope we will be able to reach a specific decision on this as soon as possible.
I can say that the Statement we signed today is very important indeed. I will say that the implementation of the agreements in this Statement could change the economic profile of our region and that the economic changes could produce even more reliable security guarantees. We will certainly work constructively to this end, but, as I said, unfortunately, it is impossible to resolve all the problems at one meeting.
I hope we will continue moving forward. I would like to emphasise again that for us the main issues today are humanitarian, notably, the exchange of prisoners of war as envisaged in item 8 of our November 9–10 joint Statement”.
