The treaty has been the main focus of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations held over the past year, with the two sides reporting major progress this spring during the process mediated by the United States and the European Union.
“Unfortunately, I have to say that the parties’ positions on key issues are still quite far from each other,” Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told the Armenian parliament on Wednesday. He did not go into details.
Two lawmakers representing the ruling Civil Contract party shed light on the lingering disagreements during a news conference on Thursday. One of them, Artur Hovannisian, complained that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev remains reluctant to recognize Armenia’s existing borders.
“The treaty must have clear mechanisms, guarantees that will ensure Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said. “So far efforts to reach common ground on that have not been successful.”
“When a person dies people say ‘rest in peace.’ The peace that Aliyev offers us means resting in peace,” added Hovannisian.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian announced, meanwhile, that the Armenian government has received “new comments” from Baku regarding the lingering sticking points. Yerevan will respond to them “within a reasonable period of time,” he said during a cabinet meeting,
Pashinian complained in early August that Baku is seeking to sign the kind of peace deal that would not preclude Azerbaijani territorial claims to Armenia. He had earlier pledged to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and, in particular, Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh. His domestic critics condemned the far-reaching concession, saying that even it will not safeguard Armenian territory from future Azerbaijani attacks.
Artur Khachatrian, an opposition lawmaker, insisted on Thursday that the agreement discussed by Yerevan and Baku would not bring a lasting peace to the region.
“The Armenian diplomacy must avoid signing any document because it could be … a death certificate for our statehood,” Khachatrian told reporters.
Tensions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Karabakh “line of contact” have risen again this month, with Yerevan saying that Baku has been massing troops there in possible preparation for another “military aggression.” Pashinian said on Thursday that the Azerbaijani military buildup is continuing.