YEREVAN, May 21. /TASS/: Armenia’s foreign ministry has rejected Azerbaijan’s statement about disputed territories as a false agenda.
"It is a blatant violation of international law to set conditions with the use of force or a threat of its use. Armenia rejects the false agenda of the so-called disputed territories, which may become a dangerous precedent to justify the use of force in other regions," Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Anna Nagdalyan said on Friday.
Processes of the delimitation and demarcation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be part of the process of comprehensive peaceful settlement of the conflict, she stressed, adding that the priority task is to "settle the issues of de-occupying the territories of the Republic of Artsakh (the non-recognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic - TASS) and agreeing Artsakh’s ultimate legal status under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," she said.
Armenian acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier that certain agreements had been reached with international partners to settle the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. "These solutions are 100% in Armenia’s interests. If Azerbaijan implements these agreements on the conditions we spoke about, I will sign this document," he said, but did not specify what kind of document he meant.
Later, Armenian mass media published a draft of what they called a statement of the Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian leaders on the establishment of a joint commission on the delimitation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Under the document, national delegations to the commissions are to be formed by May 31, while Russia will form a delegation to offer consultancy services. The Russian side has not yet issued any official comments.
Armenia’s defense ministry said on May 12 that Azerbaijani armed forces had tried to carry out "certain works" in a border area in Syunik Province in a bid to "adjust the border." Following retaliatory measures, the Azerbaijani side stopped its activities and agreed to hold talks to settle the situation. Later on the same day, Pashinyan called a meeting of the country’s Security Council where he described the situation as an infringement of Armenia’s territory. He said Azerbaijani troops had crossed Armenia’s state border and moved 3.5 kilometers deep into its territory.
The sides have had several rounds of talks to settle the situation, with the latest one being held on May 16 and mediated by Russia.
