Tuesday, April 23 2024 12:40

ArmInfo. Our policy is as follows: if our sisters and brothers forcibly displaced from Nagorno  Karabakh realistically have no possibility or desire to go back to Nagorno Karabakh, then we will do our best for them to stay in the Republic of Armenia. Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated in an interview with British media representatives, commenting on the possibility of the return of displaced persons.

"I also wish to inform you that recently, during one of my visits to  the regions of Armenia, I was approached by a woman who was forcibly  displaced from Nagorno Karabakh, and she asked me how realistic is  that they will have a possibility to go back to Nagorno Karabakh and  she asked me to give her a direct and sincere answer.

I told her that I will give a direct and sincere answer. In the  current situation, given the perceptions that prevail in our region,  and the perceptions that prevail in Azerbaijan, and the perceptions  that prevail among the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, with all these  perceptions, I do not consider it realistic. And I said that I cannot  lie to her, because if it were realistic, then the displacement from  Nagorno Karabakh would not have happened.

Additionally though, the Government of the Republic of Armenia has  done its best and in the final days of September 2023 we were accused  of allegedly, this was not the case of course, and that accusation  came in part from those in power in Nagorno Karabakh, allegedly of  not allowing the people of Nagorno Karabakh to find salvation by  moving to the Republic of Armenia.

At that time, here is what we were thinking: we wanted to do our best  to create conditions, as far as we were concerned, because  understandably this decision was not only up to us, to do our best to  ensure that the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of the  people of Nagorno Karabakh did not happen. But our efforts were in  vain.

And quite the opposite, there were some forces that under those  circumstances wanted to draw the Republic of Armenia into war, having  their far-reaching goals. Going back to the questions answered  earlier, one thing I told you was that the Republic of Armenia is not  preparing to fight a war for Nagorno Karabakh. I told that the  Republic of Armenia has no aspirations beyond its international  recognized borders. And we hope that in the border delimitation  process the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia will be  restored.

By the way, with the decisions being taken already today in the  border delimitation process we have already demonstrated that we are  candid. We have demonstrated that we are sincere because one thing we  did was that we noted that the Government of Armenia is ready to take  steps within its powers so that in those 4 Azerbaijani villages,  which are Kizilhajili, Kheyrumli, Ashagh Askipara, Baghanis-Ayrum,  where no people currently live, life becomes possible, making it  possible for them to live there.

But we are also stating that as a result of that same process, it  should become just as possible for people to live a life free of  stress in Baghanis, Voskepar, Kirants and Berkaber villages of the  Republic of Armenia, for people to live in their homes, create family  and have children without concerns for security.

But that's the point on which the governments of Armenia and  Azerbaijan need to convert the theoretical peace agenda into a  concrete peaceful reality. It's true, this is a local section on  which we have agreed, but the quality of implementation of these  local agreements will increase or decrease trust in the peace agenda  and feasibility of peace.

I believe it will increase trust in peace among the Armenian and  Azerbaijani societies and will build up a stock of confidence. Let's  agree that there is a profound lack of confident. And I want to say  words of praise to the members of the border delimitation commissions  and for the work done by the two co-chairs, who have tried to build  trust and confidence molecule by molecule. And if treated delicately  and with care, it can develop, and if not treated with care, it may  fall apart. These commissions are led by the Deputy Prime Minister of  Armenia Mher Grigoryan and Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin  Mustafayev," the premier noted.

Answering a question about the destruction of Armenian churches,  crosses and tombstones, Pashinyan emphasized that spiritual values  have physical expression and for Christianity this is not at all  secondary.

"You know spiritual values have material manifestations and in  Christianity that's not of a secondary importance. Protection of  historical and cultural monuments is an important task and it becomes  quite acute in conflict zones in particular. I think it's very  important here that we create an atmosphere of confidence in the  region and overcome the atmosphere of hostility.

Because after all, with the negative attitude towards the historical  and cultural monuments and legacy, people are actually expressing  hostility towards one another. This is not a living creation, it's a  monument, you might think why, what is the need for attacking a  breathless monument and damaging it, but it's the people's way of  expressing their hostility towards one another.

And the solution to that problem is again through overcoming  hostility. Of course, these monuments, especially the churches, have  a history, spirit, they are places of worship, sacred places, and  desecrating them is a manifestation of hostility. So, we cannot say  let the hostility go on, grow deeper, but we protect the monuments.  That's impossible.

The security of monuments can be protected if people do not feel  hostility when they look at these monuments, or at least they feel a  manageable degree of hostility to not set the bar too high. I think  of that as part of the peace agenda.

There is another dangerous theory there, that the movement for the  preservation of monuments and being consistent in that issue is very  important, but it is also important that this process is not used for  intensifying hostility.

It's a very delicate thing, but it's happening, because if you are  desecrating what's sacred for the other, that sense of animosity,  hostility will naturally go deeper. And if we want it to not happen,  then we need to follow-up with the implementation of the peace  agenda, because that's not a stand-alone issue, it is part of the  parcel of this peace agenda.

I see the solution to all these issue by going back to  Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agenda with the three fundamental principles  upon which peace should be built. The three main principles of peace  between Armenia and Azerbaijan have already been documented. They are  as follows: firstly, Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's  sovereignty and territorial integrity on the bases of the 1991  Alma-Ata declaration, secondly, Armenia and Azerbaijan take the  Alma-Ata declaration as the political basis for the delimitation  process and thirdly, regional communications will be opened under  sovereignty and jurisdiction of states, based on the principle of  reciprocity and equality. This third principle is articulated in our  "Crossroad of Peace" initiative, which is an important instrument for  overcoming animosity, along with the first two principles., the PM  emphasized.