Armenian leader says Yerevan, Baku agreed on 'architecture, principles' of peace treaty

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Yerevan and Baku have agreed on the "architecture and principles" of a peace treaty, as the two neighbors continue talks on normalizing their relations.

“The architecture and principles of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been agreed upon … but from the beginning, Azerbaijan three times refused to participate in negotiations in different formats, after which presidential elections in Azerbaijan were scheduled,” Pashinyan said in an interview with The Telegraph aired on Sunday, the transcript of which was shared by Pashinyan's office.

The Armenian leader said that he assumed that they would be able to finalize an agreement after the presidential election in Azerbaijan “if there is political will.”

He further said Yerevan “has the political will” to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan based on previous agreements between the two countries.

He said he has neither denied nor rejected cooperation with Russia in general and particularly in the security sector.

“What does this mean? Does this mean that we are going to break our security relationship with Russia? No, it doesn't mean that, but it means that in the field of security, we are preparing and are ready, and we are discussing and working to establish relations, for example, with the European Union,” Pashinyan went on to say.

He added that Armenia’s security relations with the US, France, India or the EU are not directed against Russia, but rather “a consequence of the reality that the security relationships we used to have in the past do not address our security needs.”

He also denied discussions on NATO membership, saying that Armenia is “at least a de jure member of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization)."

Armenia's ties with the EU are deepening and that it is ready to be “as close to the European Union as the European Union deems it possible,” he added.

Pashinyan went on to neither confirm nor deny that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested should he visit Armenia, commenting on a question on whether Yerevan will do so after having formally joined the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as of Feb. 1.

“There are various opinions and legal analyzes on that topic, and in particular, the lawyers who say that the current heads of state have immunity, insurmountable immunity, due to their status are not just a few. I mean, it's a legal issue, not a political issue that I have to discuss and respond to,” he said.