Arayik Harutyunyan avoids answering if Armenian prisoners` return is  a prerequisite for Armenia`s participation in COP29

ArmInfo.Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister of Armenia, did not respond the  question of whether the return of Armenian prisoners is a prerequisite for Armenia's participation in the UN Climate Conference (COP29).

 Thus, on October 30, during a conversation with reporters  in the country's parliament, Harutyunyan clarified whether Armenia  plans to participate in COP29, assuring that this decision will be  influenced by several factors, including those related to the  conclusion of a peace treaty.  When asked by journalists if Armenia  had made the return of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held  in Azerbaijan a precondition for its participation in COP29, the  Prime Minister's Chief of Staff gave a vague answer, only stating  that he did not believe it is productive to impose conditions in the  negotiation process.

When journalists asked if Armenia would make new concessions to  achieve the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, Harutyunyan  emphasized the importance of mutual concessions in any agreement. He  added that unilateral concessions could be fruitless. However, he did  not specify the concessions Armenia expects from Azerbaijan, as the  latter has not backed down from its demands in the negotiation  process on any issue so far.

When asked if Armenia would follow Azerbaijan's lead in changing the  country's main law, as the Azerbaijani authorities are insisting on,  Harutyunyan noted that Armenia has certain so-called "red lines", but  did not elaborate on what he meant by that. Speaking about the  possibility of international actors pressuring Baku to sign a peace  treaty with Yerevan, the head of the Prime Minister's Office admitted  that each superpower pursues its own goals and benefits in various  issues. "It is important that Armenia can effectively advocate for  its own interests in this context," Harutyunyan concluded.

It is noteworthy that today, an Armenian newspaper reported, citing  its sources in the ruling power, that Armenian Foreign Minister  Ararat Mirzoyan intends to participate in the UN summit in Baku, even  if the Azerbaijani authorities do not release Armenian prisoners of  war. Previously, he had stated that he would only go to Baku if the  Armenian prisoners of war were released.

Note that the same newspaper recently reported that during the Kazan  meeting of the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev asked  Nikol Pashinyan why he had not brought up the issue of returning the  military-political leadership of Artsakh, including State Minister  Ruben Vardanyan. Pashinyan's response was: "Because you won't release  them anyway." In fact, the vague responses from the head of the Prime  Minister's office in Armenia and leaks published in an Armenian  newspaper suggest that the Armenian authorities are not very  concerned about the fate of Armenians, who are citizens of the  Republic of Armenia, held in Azerbaijani prisons. They do not appear  to be bringing up this issue again.