Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was quoted on Monday (22 May) indicating sweeping changes in his country’s policy vis-à-vis its arch-foe Azerbaijan and its ally Russia.
Armenia is ready to recognise the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave as part of Azerbaijan if Baku guarantees the security of its ethnic Armenian population, the Russian state news agency TASS and the Russian news outlet Ostorozhno, Novosti quoted Pashinyan as saying on Monday.
Nagorno-Karabakh has been a source of conflict between the two Caucasus neighbours since the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, and between ethnic Armenians and Turkic Azeris for well over a century.
In 2020, Azerbaijan seized control of areas that had been controlled by ethnic Armenians in and around the mountain enclave, and since then it has periodically closed the only access road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, on which the enclave relies for financial and military support.
“The 86,600 sq km of Azerbaijan’s territory includes Nagorno-Karabakh,” Pashinyan told a news conference, according to Ostorozhno, Novosti.
“If we understand each other correctly, then Armenia recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within the named limits, and Baku – the territorial integrity of Armenia at 29,800 sq km.”
The outlet quoted him as saying he was prepared to do this – in effect accept Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised borders – if the rights of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh were guaranteed. He said the issue should be discussed in talks between the two countries.
“Armenia remains committed to the peace agenda in the region. And we hope that in the near future we will come to an agreement on the text of the peace treaty and be able to sign it,” he said, according to TASS.
Pashinyan was also quoted as saying that his country could withdraw from Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), in a fresh show of discontent over the lack of support from its ally Russia.
Yerevan has grown increasingly frustrated over what it calls Russia’s failure to protect Armenia in the face of military threats from Azerbaijan.
“I am not ruling out that Armenia will take a decision to withdraw from the CSTO,” if the bloc fails to respect its treaty obligations, he told a news conference in Yerevan, as quoted by the Moscow Times.
Pashinyan’s remarks came ahead of the talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to be hosted by the Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday in Moscow.
Locked in a decades-long territorial conflict, the Caucasus neighbors have been seeking to negotiate a peace agreement with the help of the European Union and the United States.
Gman2736 on May 23rd, 2023 at 15:12 UTC »
The CSTO hung Armenia out to dry twice while Helping out Kazakhstan who had no outside threat to their sovereignty, at least from another sovereign power. He’s already had Armenia halt participation in CSTO joint drills. Obviously with Russia’s current state, membership is even less valuable. He’s in a tough spot though because if Armenia goes too far from Russia their GDP will fall a good amount and close ties with Europe is gonna be hard due to Azer’s oil. Armenia for example is smuggling a lot of western goods to Russia, which doesn’t make up a huge part of their GDP, but it contributes. Only way is to make peace that’s favorable to Azerbaijan, which seems to be what he’s doing. I feel bad for the Armenians, but they have no chance in regaining artsakh any time soon and Pashinyan’s position states that. IMO they should have the right to keep Artsakh with a corridor, but it’s never going to be supported due to Azerbaijan’s close ties with turkey and the UN borders being what they are, it’s a shame
kutusow_ on May 23rd, 2023 at 10:09 UTC »
Armenia was Russia's ally and hoped to receive support from the Russian side during the conflict in Karabakh, but the last one had no resources because of the war with Ukraine. That CSTO alliance was established to guarantee the safety of the participating countries. The common principle: attacking one country of alliance is considered as the attack on all countries of the alliance. But it was evident that Armenia was left alone during the whole conflict, so now it sees no opportunities and no future in this alliance.
Armenia lost the war, so it gives up the Karabakh region. Russia couldn't help because it had and has huge problems in Ukraine. Relationships between Russia and Armenia get colder and colder, Armenia has no trust in Russia and its alliance, so it considers CSTO as a useless organisation. The whole world doesn't give enough attention to this conflict because everyone is concentrated on the war in Ukraine, so there is a low probability of someone helping Armenia.
Winstonoceaniasmith on May 23rd, 2023 at 08:54 UTC »
SS: Pashinyan has announced he would recognise Bakus control over nagarno-karabakh on the condition that azerbaijian respects the rights of local Armenians.
He also hints at the possibility of withdrawing from CSTO should russia continue to fail to meet its obligations.
Weird choice of headline by Euractive to be honest he hints at leaving CSTO he dosent abandon it.