Pashinian appeared to rule out Russian mediation of talks on the opening of transport links between the two South Caucasus nations, citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s “totally baseless” criticism of Yerevan.
Putin made the offer when he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on August 19 during a state visit to Baku. He discussed it with Pashinian and Aliyev by phone in the following days. Yerevan essentially rejected similar Russian initiatives earlier this year amid its mounting tensions with Moscow.
“In line with a common understanding, we are working [with Azerbaijan] in a bilateral format,” Pashinian told a news conference. “If we still manage to make progress in this way, then it’s the right format. I told the president of Russia about that during our last phone conversation.”
“I don’t rule out any [third-party] mediation but that depends on multiple circumstances that need to be evaluated,” he said. “If I put it frankly, how do you imagine that, for example, on the issue of regional transport links a country that accuses Armenia of sabotaging that topic will act as a mediator? The entity making such a statement excludes itself from all possible mediations.”
Pashinian referred to Lavrov’s August 19 claim that the Armenian side is refusing to open a transport corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave in breach of the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement that stopped the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova doubled down on the accusation two days later.
Zakharova said a Russian-Armenian-Azerbaijani task force worked out the practical modalities of transports links between Nakhichevan and the rest of Azerbaijan in June 2023. She claimed that they have not been implemented because of the “intransigence of the Armenian side.”
Pashinian countered that the transport links have still not been opened “also because of comments by a number of Russian partners that have nothing to do with the logic of the document and contradict it.” He did not elaborate.
He also effectively accused Moscow of trying to sidestep its own failure to ensure Azerbaijan’s compliance with other, more significant provisions of the 2020 truce accord. They committed Baku to halting military operations in Karabakh, ensuring the region’s unfettered transport communication with Armenia and releasing all Armenian captives.
“The November 9 [2020] statement … should be looked at in its entirety,” added Pashinian.
Yerevan has been far more open to peace talks with Baku mediated by Western powers. Pashinian’s most recent meeting with Aliyev was organized by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Munich in February. And U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted talks between the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Washington as recently as on July 10.
Moscow has dismissed the Western peace efforts, saying that their main goal is to drive Russia out of the South Caucasus. Putin’s offer seems to be its latest attempt to regain the main mediating role in the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.
Pashinian on Saturday sounded satisfied with the course of that process, citing, among other things, a fresh agreement on the delimitation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border signed on Friday. He revealed that Yerevan also proposed on Friday that the two sides sign soon a framework agreement that would enable them to establish diplomatic relations. The sides already fully agree on 13 of the 17 articles of a draft peace treaty discussed them, he said without disclosing any of them.
“We propose to sign and ratify what has been agreed at this point and to continue discussing all remaining issues,” explained Pashinian.
Aliyev reiterated on Friday that the signing of the treaty is conditional on a change of Armenia’s current constitution which he says contains territorial claims to Azerbaijan.
Pashinian, who plans to try to enact a new constitution, denied the existence of such claims and insisted that it is the Azerbaijani constitution that lays claim to Armenian territory.
