Mirzoyan offers Baku simultaneous signing of two documents

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, in an interview with Turkey’s NTV during the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, stated that Armenia proposed Azerbaijan sign two documents simultaneously—a peace agreement and a joint letter to the OSCE or its member states to initiate the dissolution of the Minsk Group.

“Referring to some ideas expressed by the Azerbaijani side, particularly regarding the Minsk Group, I want to note that our position is clear. If we acknowledge that the conflict is over and this is confirmed by the peace agreement, then the Minsk Group and its subsidiary structures no longer serve a purpose. Based on that logic, we proposed to sign both documents on the same day—the peace agreement and the joint letter to the OSCE or its member states initiating the dissolution of the Minsk Group,” Mirzoyan said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Responding to a question about the possible location for signing the peace agreement, Mirzoyan said it could happen at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border or in a mutually acceptable third country.

“All of this is open to discussion. However, it should be noted that immediately after the announcement of an agreement on the text, the Azerbaijani side presented several preconditions related to the Minsk Group and the Constitution. There may be other ideas as well, as far as I understand,” he added.

When the interviewer noted that Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov had expressed a similar view during discussions, Mirzoyan responded: “Our approach is as follows: we can start the process by laying one brick, then another, and after a while we may see that we’ve built a solid bridge. Or we can sit and wait for another few hundred years, trying to figure out whether previous approaches are still applicable, whether the conflict is truly over, or whether obstacles remain. But our position is to focus on the constructive side of the issue, to concentrate on opportunities and the future, rather than getting stuck in the past and only seeing obstacles.”

On April 12, within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met to discuss the peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The ministers reviewed the current state of the normalization process and reaffirmed their commitment to continued dialogue.