Armenia reminds Azerbaijan of the value of peace

Despite the fact that the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities were able to agree on the text of a peace treaty, the security situation in the region has not improved. Over the past few days, Baku has been accusing Yerevan of shelling its territory. The Armenian side denies everything, and European observers also do not record violations.

According to the Azerbaijani side, from March 16 to March 18, the Armenian military opened fire from small arms at least six times. Sometimes the shooting was a one-time shooting, sometimes it was recorded for several hours. According to the statements of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the Armenians were hitting the districts located in Karabakh.

In response to the accusations, the Armenian Defense Ministry stated every time that there was nothing like that. In addition, they recalled that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan proposed to create a joint mechanism for Baku “to investigate cases of ceasefire violations and/or information about them, but Azerbaijan has not yet responded to this proposal.” In this regard, Yerevan is ready to investigate the cases mentioned by the Azerbaijani authorities if they provide the necessary information.

In turn, the EU Delegation to Armenia sent its patrols to various sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on March 16 and 17. The observers did not notice anything that could confirm Azerbaijan’s accusations. “The situation remains calm and peaceful, there is no unusual activity,” the representative office said in a statement.

Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan suggests not to attach much importance to Azerbaijani activity. “At this stage, I do not think that Azerbaijan will escalate, we have just announced the agreement on a peace treaty, and the assessment of EU observers is obvious. And the world does not form its opinion based on Azerbaijani Telegram channels. They have their own sources, and the Azerbaijani side should take this into account. There are solutions to any “concerns” promoted by Azerbaijan in the treaty. If this is not enough, we are ready to discuss and understand whether there is such a thing as territorial claims in the Armenian Constitution or not,” Simonyan stressed.

The Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic also recalled that Yerevan “is guided by the peace agenda, which is an indisputable proof of the steps aimed at finalizing the text of the agreement on the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” In this regard, Pashinyan’s office called on Baku to begin consultations on the place and timing of the signing of the peace treaty.

“We also consider it necessary to note that in January 2025, Armenia submitted to Azerbaijan in writing a proposal to solve the problem of rail freight transportation from the western regions of Azerbaijan through the territory of the Republic of Armenia to the NAR (Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. – “NG”), in the opposite direction and to third countries, and from the northwestern regions of Armenia through the territory of Azerbaijan to the southern part of Armenia, in the opposite direction and to third countries, as well as the proposal to create a bilateral mechanism for mutual arms control, and awaits a positive response from Azerbaijan. At the same time, we confirm that Armenia is ready to continue work on the delimitation of the state border with Azerbaijan,” the Prime Minister’s office stressed.

However, Baku is not so welcoming. In particular, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov published an article in which he said that revanchist tendencies in Armenia are a serious obstacle to the normalization of bilateral relations.

“Despite the progress achieved in the framework of bilateral negotiations on a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ongoing trend of revanchism in Armenia, the lack of political will to change the provisions of the Constitution and other normative legal acts containing territorial claims against Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia’s rapid armament with the direct support of external forces continue to be the most serious obstacles to finalizing the process of normalization of relations,” the head of Azerbaijani diplomacy said.

Alexander Iskandaryan, head of the Caucasus Institute, told NG that the statements of the Azerbaijani authorities primarily indicate that agreeing on the text of the peace treaty does not lead to its imminent signing. “Statements about the attacks are usually coordinated with some events within the negotiation process. Among other things, they were voiced before Baku and Yerevan announced the agreement on the text of the peace treaty. This is one of the forms of pressure on Armenia. This is a kind of swing: if something positive sounds, then some kind of threat should sound, and vice versa,” Iskandaryan believes.

Farid Shafiev, Chairman of the Board of the Center for the Analysis of International Relations (CAMO), believes that the shelling from the Armenian side may be an ordinary provocation that will not seriously affect anything. At the same time, the peace treaty will not be signed until the Armenian authorities exclude from the preamble of the Constitution a reference to the Declaration of Independence, which mentions Nagorno-Karabakh.

“History knows cases when international documents lose their significance after 10-20 years. The same thing can happen with a peace treaty if after some time revanchists come to power in Armenia who claim that Pashinyan concluded an agreement that contradicts the Constitution. This is a fundamental problem, others, including the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. – “NG”), it can be solved quickly,” said “NG” Shafiev. According to him, Yerevan’s statements about its readiness for peace are not enough for Baku, it expects practical steps from it.