Just days after his latest talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused Azerbaijan of planning military aggression against Armenia.
“Analyzing … statements made from official Baku, we come to the conclusion that yes, an attack on Armenia is very likely,” he told the France 24 TV channel in an interview broadcast on Friday.
Pashinyan complained that the Azerbaijani leadership is still reluctant to recognize Armenia’s border “without ambiguity” and continues to refer to much of Armenian territory as “Western Azerbaijan.” He said Baku is not honoring understandings on the key parameters of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty reached by him and Aliyev during their meetings in 2022 and 2023 mediated by the European Union.
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Speaking on February 18, one day after meeting with Aliyev in Munich, Pashinyan stated that both sides are “committed to those understandings.” Both leaders sounded satisfied with the talks hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The latter said they “agreed to resolve open issues without new violence.”
It was also agreed that the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers will meet soon for further discussions on the peace treaty. A senior Armenian official said on Thursday that the two sides continue to disagree on key provisions of the would-be treaty.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry rejected Pashinyan’s latest claims. It said they are “absolutely baseless” and aimed at misleading the international community.
Pashinyan already charged on February 15 that Azerbaijan is pursuing a “policy of military coercion” in an effort to clinch more Armenian territory and other concessions from Yerevan. He said it may be planning to launch “military operations at some sections of the border with the prospect of turning the military escalation into a full-scale war against Armenia.”
The premier went on to reject Azerbaijani demands for major legislative changes in Armenia, saying that they constitute a violation of his country’s sovereignty and interference in its internal affairs. Pashinyan himself called last month for the adoption of a new Armenian constitution reflecting the “new geopolitical environment” in the region. His critics say that he did so under Azerbaijani pressure.