A meeting scheduled to take place in Moscow between the foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia has been canceled at the insistence of Yerevan, which cited the ongoing blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan as a reason. Yerevan announced, however, that it had submitted a new draft of a “peace proposal” to Baku.
Armenia’s foreign ministry said that Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s current priorities to restore travel of the Lachin Corridor—the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia—will prevent him from participating in the meeting, which was scheduled for Friday.
“The Armenian side confirmed its participation in the Moscow meeting over two weeks ago before Azerbaijan’s unlawful blockade of the Lachin Corridor,” Armenia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan told Armenpress on Wednesday.
“Obviously Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s pressing priority now is to address the issue of uninterrupted restoration of the Lachin Corridor in line with the November 9, 2020 statement and the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, as a result of which, Armenia asked that the Moscow meeting be postponed,” added Huanyan.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the Lachin Blockade with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhum Bayramov, who claimed that the people who have blocked the road for 11 days have not halted traffic.
Bayramov made the claim despite the fact that the so-called Azerbaijani protesters did not allow Russia peacekeepers to pass through the corridor on Wednesday.
Lavrov reportedly “stressed the need for strict observance of the trilateral agreements on ensuring unhindered communications between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia along the Lachin corridor.”
Bayramov repeated the same claims to Josep Borell, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, telling him during a telephone conversation Thursday that the Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists staging protests by blocking the Lachin corridor were acting within the parameters of Azerbaijani law.
He went on to accuse Artsakh Armenians of allegedly carrying out illegal activities within the mines located near the Lachin Corridor.
In announcing the cancelation of the Moscow meeting, Hunanyan also revealed that as a sign of Yerevan’s constructive approach to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a draft of a “peace proposal” has been submitted to Baku.
According to Armenia’s National Security chief Armen Grigoryan, the new proposal by Armenia suggests the creation of an institution that would guarantee the implementation of a future treaty.
Grigoryan explained that the envisioned body would include representatives from Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as international partners that “will ensure the implementation of the treaty.” He added that Armenia also has proposed mechanisms by which the sides can apply to international legal bodies in the event of crisis.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also referred to the draft proposal submitted to parliament during his weekly cabinet meeting.
“The Republic of Armenia has conveyed to Azerbaijan its proposals around a peace treaty and we are ready to sign the treaty within that content. I hope that Azerbaijan’s reaction will also be positive,” Pashinyan said.
He added that Armenia had submitted its draft regarding the delimitation and demarcation of borders several months ago. However, he said, official Baku has not responded to those proposals.
“Our position remains the same: Azerbaijan must cease its occupation of sovereign territories of Armenia and must withdraw its troops from sovereign territory of Armenia,” Pashinyan said. “We are ready to sign an agreement with that content.”