ArmInfo. Armenia is ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan in the shortest possible time and has already proposed to sign the agreed points. Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, stated this in an interview with Factor, when asked if negotiations with Baku have reached a standstill, especially considering Azerbaijan's ongoing demands to change the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.
"We believe that we are addressing some of the existing problems by signing the agreed points. The remaining issues we will discuss in future stages. That is, the peace treaty should also be considered as part of the process. At the moment, we are resolving some problems, and any unresolved issues we will address in the next stage through negotiations. Armenia is ready to conclude a peace treaty promptly, and is committed to actively participating in finalizing the peace treaty at the highest level and sign it as soon as possible," Grigoryan said.
When asked about Armenia's decision to discuss amending the Constitution in 2027, the official emphasized that this issue is part of the country's domestic political agenda and cannot be the subject of any discussions by external forces. "The matter of the Constitution, and in general the issue of amending the Constitution, is an internal affair of Armenia that has been on our agenda since 2020. The Prime Minister of Armenia has stated this publicly. Constitutional amendments are a domestic issues for Armenia, and the country will determine the timing based on its internal affairs," the Secretary of the Security Council added.
When asked if the President of Azerbaijan's accusations of "revanchist ideas" against the Armenian authorities, their conduct of intensive military exercises and armament, and their presentation of a number of other demands to Armenia indicate that Baku's ultimate goal is war, not peace, Grigoryan agreed that the military budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan has consistently been much larger than the Armenia's for years. "In the context of armament, Azerbaijan is arming itself more intensively. It's important to note that Armenia only acquires defensive weapons - to protect its territorial integrity. And these weapons are not intended for any other purposes. We have also proposed to Azerbaijan to create a mechanism for mutual arms control. In addition, we firmly believe that the peace agreement creates long-term guarantees of long- term stability between the two countries. We believe that the signing of a peace treaty, a mechanism for mutual arms control, which we proposed to the Azerbaijani side, will make it possible to alleviate all fears," the official added.
According to him, there is a fundamental expert analysis that the government of Azerbaijan needs to maintain the conflict and a hostile atmosphere with Armenia, not sign an agreement, arm, and provoke border clashes. Grigoryan once again pointed out Armenia's motivation to sign a peace treaty as soon as possible, and added that a number of international partners support this desire of the Republic of Armenia.
When asked if Armenia is ready to defend its territory in the event of a large-scale military attack by Azerbaijan, the official said that Armenia will do everything necessary to defend itself in the event of any attack. In this regard, he reiterated that Yerevan is acquiring solely defensive weapons and continues to enhance its capabilities to be prepared for various scenarios in order to protect its territorial integrity. Speaking about the EU Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA), the official stressed that they are carrying out their mission properly and ensuring transparency in the region by monitoring the situation on the ground. Grigoryan noted that the Armenian authorities highly value the EU mission and believe it should continue to remain as long as necessary. In response to the remark that Russia and Azerbaijan accuse the EU mission of spying on Moscow, Baku and Tehran, and the question of Iran's perspective on this matter, and whether this is an attempt to remove a neutral mediator to simplify its tasks in future attacks, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia stated that the presence of EUMA aligns with the relationship between Yerevan and Brussels.
"Of course, the mission is also about regional stability, but it is also about bilateral relations. We discuss these issues at bilateral platforms. Regarding Iran, we work transparently with the Iranian side on all cooperation issues. I believe that Tehran understands Armenia's steps, if possible, in general has information about the goals of the mission," Grigoryan said, without finishing his thought, as this part of his answer was edited.