Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan gave an interview to the Turkish TV channel TRT World within the framework of participation in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. Reference was made to a number of Armenia’s foreign policy issues, including relations with the USA and the EU, the security situation in the South Caucasus, the process of regulating Armenian-Turkish relations, and key issues in the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Question: Looking at the South Caucasus, we see that the region is going through a period of transformation, the countries of the post-Soviet area are going through geopolitical changes. Looking at Armenia, especially in the last few years, we see that it has expanded its network of allies, moving from traditional allies to new allies. As the head of Armenia’s foreign policy, what path do you want your country to take?
Answer: Indeed, the region, including Armenia, is going through serious transformations. In our case, it is also an internal affair. The people of Armenia have chosen the democratic path to develop the society and we have proven this choice several times through elections, as well as through the process of strengthening our democratic institutions. And along the way, we see that the European Union and the US are the main supporters of our democratic reforms and institutional changes. And in general, it’s a good idea to diversify relations, to have as many partners as you can. So, this is the way we are passing though, we are in the middle of the process of significantly deepening our relations with the EU, the USA, while maintaining traditional ties or, for example, looking to the East as well. You know, we are building a completely new quality relationship with India and so on. Of course, I would also like to emphasize our priority – to normalize and develop relations with our neighbors. This is the short description of our foreign policy.
Question: You talked about the EU. The EU is expanding, have you ever thought about joining the EU? Is it possible in the near or distant future? Or maybe Armenia is interested in NATO membership as part of its foreign policy towards the West?
Answer: Having in mind all the challenges that we have been facing during the last 3-4 years, many opportunities are being actively discussed in Armenia nowadays. It will not be a secret if I say that the idea of joining the EU is also in that list. The people of Armenia have European aspirations, and as I said, we are going through the process and we will see what the end of the process will be, which no one can predict at the moment.
Question: How would you assess the current stage of relations with the two Western countries, the USA and France, and how do they support you on your way?
Answer: We have new opportunities for cooperation with France and the USA. We have a strategic dialogue with the US, in the framework of which we are exploring new areas. I can say the same about the European Union. We have the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement with the EU, but we are looking beyond this agreement. We are discussing visa liberalization, some new mechanisms that can be used in our relations. I would also like to add that for the first time in history, the European Union is involved in the security affairs in our region. You know that the EU mission is deployed in Armenia, which monitors the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is also important to note that since the deployment of the mission, tensions on the border have decreased, and we see that the mission has contributed to stability. Thus, we include new directions, new areas in our partnership, and we are still halfway through the process.
Question: We are now in Antalya, within the framework of theDdiplomacy Forum, and looking at the relations with Turkey over the last year, especially during the earthquake, we see Armenia's support to Turkey, the opening of the bridge on the border, which was closed for a very long time. Armenia’s Prime Minister arrived at the inauguration ceremony of the President of Turkey. It seems that this has become a new impetus for the regulation of relations between the two countries. How do you see the settlement process at the moment, what is missing to take the next step?
Answer: Speaking about the earthquake and Armenia's response and support, I would like to separate this from the context of the settlement process. Settlement is a political process, and when we talk about the earthquake, the loss of human life, the tragedy, the family members of the victims, these are different values, a situation in which we are guided by completely different feelings. We provided support from the bottom of our hearts, because you know, we ourselves saw the disaster of the devastating earthquake in the north of Armenia, and at that time a part of the support reached Armenia through the border with Turkey, so this time the border was opened for the rescuers and humanitarian support we sent. As for the settlement process, you know that we appointed special representatives who had active discussions, there were meetings at the ministerial level, conversations between Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Many things have been done, many things are being discussed, we have reached an agreement on some issues, but they have not yet been implemented, for example, the opening of the border for citizens of third countries and citizens of Armenia and Turkey with diplomatic passports. This has been agreed, but, unfortunately, it has not yet been implemented. We hope that it will happen soon. We have agreed on also other confidence-building measures. For example, the restoration of the historical bridge of Ani. This is a process we are going through. But it is also time to see tangible results on the ground.
Question: In general, when we are dealing with the process of regulation and, as you mentioned, the means of building trust, the economy usually plays a very important role. How do you see the trade between Armenia and Turkey?
Answer: Of course, there is a direct correlation between the opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey and the development of trade relations, one can debate which one will affect the other more, but I believe that if we open the border, business relations will develop on their own. My impression is that we have leadership, political will from both sides, and if we take the final steps, open the border, then economic ties will develop and find their way.
Question: Let's also talk about Azerbaijan. You have had meetings in the last few months, we can say years. How do you assess the prospects of peace, real peace, complete settlement, not a ceasefire? Understandably, this still implies a long way, but what stage have you reached on the diplomatic front?
Answer: Indeed, we are not discussing a ceasefire with Azerbaijan, but a process of achieving peace. We are negotiating the draft peace treaty, there are also other discussion platforms. Meetings were held at the level of the leaders of the countries, negotiations between the ministers of foreign affairs. We have managed to agree on many things, but there are key, very important issues on which the parties' positions are still far from each other. I would like to mention some of the most important ones.
First of all, the first is the issue of ensuring territorial integrity, border recognition and further demarcation process. In 1991, the two countries signed and ratified a document by which they recognized each other's territorial integrity and borders. It is the declaration of Alma-Ata. Without going into too much detail, it is the document by which the twelve republics of the USSR accepted that, firstly, the USSR ceased to exist, and secondly, the administrative borders between them were recognized as interstate, international borders. Armenia and Azerbaijan were among those republics. During the last round of negotiations, the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration, its principles, particularly the in 2022 in Prague, then in Sochi, Brussels, also on other occasions. Therefore, the two countries reaffirmed that they recognize each other's territorial integrity and agreed to carry out the further delimitation process in accordance with the Alma-Ata Declaration, on the basis of the border in 1991. However, now that we want to refer to the Alma-Ata declaration in the peace treaty, stating what I described a moment ago, nothing more, we see reluctance on the part of Azerbaijan to sign such a document; they simply remove that link, that part from the text. At least this raises questions among Armeia’s diplomats, because there are doubts that after the crimes that took place in our region, after the forced deportation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, their homeland, Azerbaijan may have further plans, to continue its ambitions for the sovereign territory of Armenia. In order to avoid such a scenario or misunderstanding, if it is a misunderstanding, Azerbaijan can simply sign under the text I mentioned, ratify it.
The full interview in the video.
