ArmInfo.Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan refused to comment on the statement Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made at his meeting with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov. The Azerbaijani leader voiced hope for a breakthrough in normalization of relations between Yerevan and Baku in 2023.
"Commenting on that statement would probably be a thankless job, as the Azerbaijani leader says one thing, but it turns out to be a different thing later- including his statements intended for the domestic audience," he said. Armenia must defend its national interests and agenda.
As to the international guarantor of progress in the Baku-Stepanakert negotiations, Mr Simonyan said that it is a nation that would be capable of acting as guarantor. In any case, if a nation willing to act as guarantor proves incapable of being such, an agreement will not take effect.
"It would be wrong to sign a formal document and state later it is not in force. One thing is certain: all the agreements must be internationally guaranteed. At present we have the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, with both Armenia and Azerbaijan dissatisfied with its implementation. We believe that there is an urgent need for a mechanism of negotiations between Baku and Stepanakert," Mr Simonyan said. He is happy about personal contacts between Artsakh and Azerbaijani representatives. "The Artsakh leaders make decisions in these contacts," he said.
As to Baku's pressure on the Armenian side over Ruben Vardanyan's resignation from the post of Artsakh state minister, Mr Simonyan said that he is uninformed of the primary reasons for that step. "At least Armenia's authorities have nothing in common with that resignation," he said.
He also spoke of the ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations, with numerous proposals being discussed. The parties reached consensus on a number of issues - international principles are in question, Mr Simonyan said.