Simonian said that Armenia and Azerbaijan are specifically using Moscow as their main channel of communication on a bilateral peace treaty discussed by them.
“Proposals regarding the treaty are exchanged through various channels and the principal way of exchange is through the Russian side,” he told reporters. “Russia remains the main actor.”
“But there are also initiatives by the United States, which is quite active, as well as France,” he said.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian most recently met in Munich on February 18 for talks mediated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The U.S. State Department said afterwards that the European Union’s top official, Charles Michel, is due to host another Armenian-Azerbaijani summit “in the coming days.” There have been indications so far that the summit could take place soon.
The U.S., France and Russia had for decades spearheaded the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process in their capacity as the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. Their joint mediation collapsed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has since repeatedly accused the West of trying to sideline it and use the Karabakh conflict in the standoff over Ukraine.
Aliyev declared at the weekend that he will not sign the peace treaty unless Yerevan recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan and accepts Baku’s terms for demarcating the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Armenians will not live in peace in the absence of such an accord, he warned.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Azerbaijan of laying claim to Armenia’s entire territory and “doing everything to make peace in the region impossible.” It again claimed that Baku is planning a “new military aggression” against Armenia and Karabakh.
Simonian insisted that despite Aliyev’s latest threats the talks on the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal are not deadlocked.
“But this doesn’t serve as a deterrent against another Azerbaijani provocation,” he said.