Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian floated the idea on June 15 following a series of statements by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry that accused Armenian forces of opening fire at its troops at various sections of the border. The Armenian side categorically denied the claims.
Pashinian’s office said on Saturday morning that it has communicated to Baku through unnamed “diplomatic channels” a proposal to create a “bilateral mechanism for investigation” of such claims. It declined give any details of that mechanism.
The European Union was quick to welcome the proposal through its special envoy for the South Caucasus, Toivo Klaar. Writing on X, Klaar said the EU has “helped organize similar meetings in Georgia and is ready to share its experiences” with the two other South Caucasus states.
Azerbaijan did not react to the proposal as of Monday afternoon. Its Defense Ministry alleged another Armenian truce violation later on Saturday. Yerevan denied that claim as well.
Baku has previously rejected repeated Armenian calls for a mutual withdrawal of the two countries’ troops from their long and volatile border. Observers believe that it is unlikely to accept the proposed joint inquiries either and will keep up instead pressure on Yerevan in ongoing talks on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has repeatedly complained in recent months that Baku is reluctant to recognize Armenia’s borders through that treaty and insists on the opening of an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave passing through a key Armenian region.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has also made the signing of the peace treaty conditional on a change of Armenia’s constitution. Aliyev renewed his demands for the constitutional change in late April after forcing Pashinian’s administration to hand over four disputed border areas to Baku. Armenian opposition leaders have said that the land transfer will only encourage Baku to demand more Armenian concessions.
On June 19, the Armenian Foreign Ministry claimed that Azerbaijan may be planning to unleash a “new aggression” against Armenia after hosting the COP29 summit in November. It pointed to Baku’s angry reaction to the latest French-Armenian arms deal signed in Paris.
