Prime Minister: Maintaining momentum in Armenia-Azerbaijan peace  process is crucial

ArmInfo.  It is of vital importance that the momentum of the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is not lost following the recent elections. This was  stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on June 17 during the  government's Q&A session in the National Assembly, in response to a  question from ruling party MP Maria Karapetyan.

According to the Prime Minister, while members of the government were  on leave during the election campaign, it is now necessary to do  everything possible to ensure the peace process regains its dynamic.   Azerbaijan shares this position, a fact evidenced by the recent visit  to Armenia by Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of  Azerbaijan, who held talks with the Secretary of the Security Council  of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan. Pashinyan noted that the primary goal of  that meeting was specifically to restore the momentum of the peace  process.

He observed that a meeting in this format—an Azerbaijani official  visiting Armenia for high-level talks— had never occurred before in  either Armenia or Azerbaijan. By conducting such meetings, Yerevan  and Baku are essentially confirming their intention to move toward  peace.

At the same time, Pashinyan addressed domestic criticisms, noting  that there are not "100,000 people" in Armenia questioning whether  the country should be satisfied with its 29,743 square kilometers of  territory.  He dismissed such concerns as being linked to the  influence of "election bribes."