Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that after the 44-day war in Karabakh in the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan is still “in euphoria” and strives to "take a lot, and if possible, everything."

The prime minister made the remarks on Tuesday, April 18 in parliament during the presentation of a government report for 2022 in parliament.

“And this perception of themselves (Azerbaijan - Ed.) is even more warmed up by the international situation. Azerbaijan has directly or indirectly become an energy or logistical crossroad, and its importance has increased both for Russia and for some Western countries,” Pashinyan told lawmakers.

According to him, such a situation contains both risks and opportunities. Risks are observed almost every day, and the opportunities lie in the fact that the South Caucasus itself is a huge intersection, where the role of both Armenia and Georgia is important, the head of government explained.

From this point of view, he added, regional stability could become a consensus for Russia and the West, otherwise a regional explosion could become a new problem for geopolitical centers in terms of energy security.

Pashinyan assured that he sincerely strives to conclude a peace treaty with Azerbaijan as soon as possible. This treaty will become realistic if both countries mutually recognize each other’s territorial integrity and undertake not to present territorial claims to each other. In fact, this was the agreement with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Sochi and Prague, he added.

“Peace is possible if in all our international relations, not only for today, but also for the future, we clearly register that we recognize Armenia as a territory of 29,800 square kilometers, more precisely, the territory of the (former) Armenian SSR, in which we gained independence in 1991. And not only do we not have any territorial demands from any other countries, but we never will," Pashinyan said.