Baku expects actions, not statements, from Yerevan No trust in Armenia

There is a long-standing diplomatic postulate that says, "Until everything is agreed upon, nothing is agreed upon." Armenia considered it possible to disregard this postulate and resorted to an outright and primitive manipulation. Thus, on March 13, during a conversation with journalists at the office of the Civil Contract party, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated: "We said that we are ready to begin consultations on the dates and location for signing the peace agreement." Essentially, this was an attempt to put the cart before the horse.

Subsequently, actions developed in the same paradigm. Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through diplomatic channels, informed Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the Armenian side accepts Baku’s proposals regarding two unapproved articles of the "Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan" and suggested publishing a joint statement on agreeing on the draft text of the peace agreement and concluding negotiations on the draft agreement.

As you can see, Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, are also demonstrating remarkable haste by suggesting the publication of a joint statement, as if all issues between Baku and Yerevan have been fully agreed upon. In reality, this is not the case. "We note with satisfaction that the negotiations on the text of the draft Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been concluded," stated Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its response.

This means that official Baku has confirmed only the completion of yet another, albeit important, stage of negotiations between Baku and Yerevan. However, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry emphasized that the country's position regarding the need for amendments to Armenia’s Constitution remains unchanged. "We also reiterate the long-lasting and principled position of Azerbaijan that the amendment to Armenia’s constitution to eliminate the claims against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is a prerequisite to allow the signing of the negotiated text. Furthermore, we emphasize the necessity to formally abolish the obsolete and dysfunctional Minsk Group and related structures of the OSCE," the statement from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reads.

This is the very position that official Baku has maintained from the very beginning of negotiations on the conditions for signing a peace agreement with official Yerevan. It is important to note that the initiative for signing such a peace agreement came from Baku. Azerbaijan, having fully restored its sovereignty and territorial integrity, proposed moving to the next stage—signing a peace agreement with Armenia. However, this came with a number of well-founded proposals, without the acceptance of which any talk of a peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan would have been impossible.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev most concisely and clearly presented the position of official Baku during his speech at the opening ceremony of the XII Global Baku Forum.

"The level of trust in Armenia is close to zero. So, we do not trust any of their words. Because they are not the people who we can trust, including today’s government. Again, all that they say, for us, has zero meaning. We need documents; we need papers. We need their constitution to be free of territorial claims against Azerbaijan. It still contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan. We need the OSCE Minsk Group to be dissolved. We convey this message to Armenia, saying that there is no logic in keeping the Minsk Group. It was created to address the issue of Karabakh. Now Karabakh is done. Armenia recognizes Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Why don’t you join us in a joint application to the OSCE to dissolve it? They don’t want. So, they want to keep “a part of their feet” on the ground, on our territory, now virtually, of course. Their military build-up - what does it demonstrate? It demonstrates that they are preparing for a new war," stated the President of Azerbaijan.

Indeed, how can one trust the first, second, and third Presidents of Armenia, who actively participated in the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, carried out ethnic cleansing, and are guilty of committing genocide in Khojaly? All of them must stand trial before an Azerbaijani court.

How can one trust Nikol Pashinyan, the author of provocative statements like "Karabakh is Armenia, and period," who now tries to portray himself as a "dove of peace," while simultaneously rapidly rearming the Armenian army? How can one trust someone who gave the order to launch missile strikes on peaceful Azerbaijani cities during the 44-day war, resulting in the deaths and injuries of Azerbaijani elderly, women, and children?

How can one trust someone who continued to provide political, financial, and military support to the Karabakh separatists even after Armenia’s defeat in the 44-day war, effectively devaluing his own signature on the November 10, 2020, Trilateral Statement on a ceasefire? Finally, how can one trust Pashinyan, who refuses to amend Armenia’s Constitution, which contains territorial claims against Azerbaijan? He claims this is Armenia’s "internal matter." Azerbaijan, however, rightly points out that without changing this position, without removing territorial claims against the country from Armenia's constitution, there can be no talk of signing a peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan.

Moreover, Pashinyan and his team could very well lose power in Armenia. Nearly 66% of the citizens of Armenia do not approve of their prime minister’s performance. This is according to the results of a survey conducted by MPG/Gallup International Association from February 27 to March 6 in Armenia. According to MPG, only 9% said they fully approve of the Armenian prime minister's work, while only 15.5% somewhat approve of the head of the Armenian government’s actions. 46.5% of respondents fully disapprove, and 19.1% somewhat disapprove of his performance. In other words, his negative rating exceeds his approval rating by as much as 42%! How can one trust the words of someone who may soon lose power in Armenia? In the very Armenia where revanchist sentiments remain strong, where there is widespread Turkophobia, and where monuments to the murderers of Turkish diplomats and Azerbaijani civilians have not been removed? These are rhetorical questions.

The truth is, Azerbaijan can agree to sign a peace treaty with Armenia only after all its justified conditions are met in Yerevan. Azerbaijan doesn’t need words; it needs actions, documents. And so far, none of this is in place.