Pashinyan says he admits his guilt for war, urges to sign peace treaty with Baku in no time

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan announced new figures for those killed in the 44-day war in Karabakh and once again spoke about the reasons for the war.

Speaking from the rostrum of the parliament, he said that at the moment there are 3825 people considered as killed, the remains of most of them were found, identified, and buried in 2021, Сaliber.Az reports citing Armenian media.

"The state flags waving in the cemeteries have become a symbol of the year 2021...I have admitted from the beginning my guilt and my responsibility for the war and for the defeat. “But I did not accept and do not accept the accusations of betrayal and surrender of land, addressed to me by the opposition,”- Pashinyan said.  

The prime minister reiterated the idea expressed in an interview that if he can be accused of anything, then only of refusing to surrender the lands.

"I am guilty of not telling the people in 2018 and 2019 that all our friends, far and near, expect us to surrender the notorious seven districts (around Karabakh) to Azerbaijan in one configuration or another and lower the bar we set on the status of Karabakh. That the international community recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and expects the full involvement of the Azerbaijani population that left Karabakh in the process of determining its future fate," Pashinyan said.

Speaking at the National Assembly, Pashinyan also said that during all these years international actors have been unanimous in their stance on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the need to transfer territories to Azerbaijan.

According to him, if he had surrendered the territories, he would have been able to save thousands of lives. However, by refusing to do so, he became guilty of thousands of victims.

"The international community speaks openly about the danger of being the only country in the world that does not recognize the territorial integrity of Turkey's ally Azerbaijan.

Today the international community is telling us: lower your bar a little on the Karabakh issue and you will have greater international consolidation around Armenia and Karabakh, otherwise please do not pin your hopes on us, and not because we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you," Pashinyan stated.

Pashinyan also noted that the Armenian government believes that Yerevan and Baku should sign a peace treaty as soon as possible.

"I gave my consent for the foreign ministers to begin preparations for a peace agreement. The meaning, format, and timeframe of this will be further discussed. However, signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan as soon as possible is in our plans," he added.

"Our strategy is to find out Azerbaijan's official position on the issue of borders, officially record Armenia's position on the same issue; to be as legitimate as possible in our position, that is to use only facts and arguments with a legal basis when clarifying the borders; to get recognition of that legitimacy from the international community and then reach an agreement with Azerbaijan," Pashinyan said.

According to the Armenian PM, by April 30, Yerevan and Baku should appoint members of the border delimitation commission.

"Armenia recognizes the integrity of Azerbaijan, the issue of the legal status of Karabakh is aimed at ensuring its security," he said.