Mher Grigoryan’s objections to the statements of the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan at the CIS sitting
RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Hasanov contradicted each other at the November 12 online sitting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government. The Armenian side accused Azerbaijan of not implementing the provisions of the trilateral statement signed on November 9, and Hasanov claimed the opposite. RA Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said in his speech, “As a result of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, 40,000 people were left homeless and lost their property, 17,000 civilian facilities and infrastructure were destroyed, and thousands of people, including civilians, were killed and wounded. The fate of many is still unknown. Despite its commitments, Azerbaijan continues to torpedo the implementation of the agreements reached, including holding many Armenian prisoners of war captive, which is not only a gross violation of Article 8 of the November 9, 2020 declaration, but also a gross violation of international humanitarian law. Distorting the 2020 plan on unblocking infrastructure in the region outlined in the provisions of the November 9, 2020 and January 11, 2021 trilateral statements, Azerbaijan is manipulating the idea of a ‘corridor,’ which is accompanied by threats of use of force.”
The Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Hasanov, responding to Mher Grigoryan, said, “We are committed to the implementation of all points of the trilateral statement and we will do it. In particular, point 9, which assumes the unblocking of infrastructure. According to the decision made in Moscow on January 11 this year, a working group has been set up, within the framework of which the issues of point 9 are discussed, and the unblocking of specific infrastructures is being discussed. In this case, to say that Azerbaijan accompanies the solution of transport problems with the threat of force… no comment. This is an issue to be decided within the framework of a trilateral group and this is not only connected with the interests of Azerbaijan, but also with other countries in the region.” Referring to Mher Grigoryan’s statement not to return Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, Hasanov said that Azerbaijan fully implemented the 8th point of the trilateral statement. Referring to the Russian Foreign Ministry, he said that a total of 122 soldiers and detainees were returned with the participation of Russian peacekeepers, 105 of them to Armenia and 17 to Azerbaijan.
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The RA Deputy Prime Minister objected to the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. In this regard, Mher Grigoryan said, “Armenia remains faithful to the implementation of all points of the trilateral declarations signed on November 9 and January 11, 2021, including the implementation of the January 11 agreement, and of course, the Armenian side is doing it. However, I must mention that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by force. The settlement of the conflict can be achieved through peaceful negotiations, exclusively within the framework of the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group. In this sense, in order to defuse the situation and enter the stage of peaceful development in the region, it is necessary for Azerbaijan to take a constructive position and renounce aggressive rhetoric and hostile actions.”
Prepared by Nelly Babayan
