Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed the current state of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
“The official propaganda of the Republic of Azerbaijan is increasingly focusing on the thesis that Armenia is arming itself, is preparing to attack Azerbaijan, and therefore Azerbaijan has the right to defend itself and take preventive measures.
If we reproduce these theses of Azerbaijani propaganda more briefly and more simply, everything comes down to the following: Armenia is preparing to attack Azerbaijan, therefore it is better for Azerbaijan to attack Armenia as a preventive measure.
There are two versions of the origin of these propaganda theses: either Azerbaijan really thinks that Armenia intends to attack it, or it intends to attack and is trying to form the basis for this. In both cases, the basic premise is Azerbaijan's claim about Armenia's intention to attack Azerbaijan.
Is Armenia going to attack Azerbaijan
Any impartial observer can state that the Government of the Republic of Armenia has left no room for interpretation in this matter. I have repeatedly stated, and now I consider it necessary to clarify that the Republic of Armenia is committed to the strategic agreement reached in Prague on October 6, 2022, that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty on the basis of the Alma Ata Declaration.
That is, the Republic of Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan within the territory of the Azerbaijan SSR, and the Republic of Azerbaijan recognizes the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia within the territory of the Armenian SSR.
This thesis has already gained de jure force in both states, since in the regulation “On the joint activities of the Commission on the demarcation and border security issues of the state border between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the State Commission on the demarcation of the state border between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia”, which was ratified in both states, the Alma-Ata Declaration was recorded as the basic principle of the demarcation process between the two countries.
It is also with this fact in mind that I have stated several times that the Republic of Armenia does not set the task of returning by military means even more than 200 square kilometers of territories that are an integral part of the 29 thousand 743 square kilometers of internationally recognized sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, which are currently under the occupation of Azerbaijan, because the above-mentioned regulation has already resolved this issue in principle and there is a real and objective opportunity to resolve it practically in the demarcation process.
In this context, I consider it necessary to emphasize that on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Armenian Army, I declared that our army It should not be applied outside the internationally recognized sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia (this, of course, does not apply to the participation of the RA game-keeping troops in international peacekeeping forces).
Therefore, the theses about Armenia’s intention to attack Azerbaijan are simply fabricated.”
