Peaceful environment round Armenia primarily implies rapprochement  with Azerbaijan - Armenian FM

ArmInfo.The RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue its efforts to create a stable and  peaceful environment around Armenia in 2025. This was stated by the head of the ministry, Ararat Mirzoyan, during a meeting of the commissions of the RA National Assembly, where the draft state budget  for 2025 was being discussed. 

According to him, the task at hand envisages, first of all, the  settlement of relations with Armenia's neighbors, with whom there are  no relations, and their development with the states of the region,  with which these relations are at a high level. 

"First of all, when it comes to the settlement of relations, we mean  relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. By the end of 2024, a very  significant result was achieved in this direction, especially when we  talk about the process of delimitation and demarcation of borders.  The Regulations on the work of the commissions on border delimitation  and border security were mutually approved. In the near future, the  parties will notify each other about the entry into force of the  Regulations," the minister said. He added that there is no reason to  doubt the continuation of the process of delimitation and demarcation  of borders either this year or next year.

Mirzoyan emphasized that the next direction for the settlement of  Armenian-Azerbaijani relations is reaching an agreement and signing a  peace treaty. Yerevan takes a constructive position on this issue,  proposing to leave unresolved issues for later and sign the document  on the agreed points as soon as possible. 

"Currently, there is an understanding that there are 1-2 more  formulations around which negotiations will continue," the minister  said, expressing cautious optimism regarding the possibility of  signing a peace treaty. He suggested that the parties will be able to  reach an agreement on the 1-2 formulations in the very near future,  after which the treaty will be ready for signing. Mirzoyan also  touched upon Baku's demands for changes to the Constitution of  Armenia. According to him, Yerevan considers the justifications for  the presence of points with territorial claims to Azerbaijan in the  country's Basic Law to be unfounded.  Moreover, the Constitutional  Court of Armenia recognized that the delimitation of borders between  countries on the basis of the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 is fully  consistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of  Armenia. This means that Armenia has no other requirements than  maintaining its borders.

The Foreign Minister stressed that steps are being taken to unblock  the transport and economic ties of the region. He added that Armenia  has proposed its own options for solving the problem, which were  accepted by Azerbaijan with some reservations, and there is some  progress on this issue as well. 

"We will continue working with Azerbaijan in the near future, and  there is hope for reaching an agreement on unblocking communications  on the points that have already been agreed upon," the Minister  stressed, recalling the principles of the Armenian side: all  infrastructure that will pass through the territory of Armenia must  be under the sovereign jurisdiction of Yerevan, and the process  itself must be based on the principles of reciprocity. These  principles are also enshrined in the Crossroads of the World project  initiated by the RA government. "I am glad to report that many states  and international organizations have welcomed this initiative. I  believe that it can become part of a wider global logistics network.  The project can also become the basis for unblocking the region's  transport communications," the RA Foreign Minister stressed.

On October 25, Armenia and Azerbaijan approved the Regulations on the  work of the commissions on delimitation of borders between the two  states. Decrees on the approval of the Regulations were signed by the  presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan - Vahagn Khachaturyan and Ilham  Aliyev. It should be noted that the National Assembly of the Republic  of Armenia ratified the draft law "On the Regulations on the work of  the commissions on delimitation and demarcation of borders between  Armenia and Azerbaijan and border security" at a plenary session on  October 23. 64 parliamentarians representing the ruling Civil  Contract faction voted for the adoption of the document. The  opposition, represented by the Armenia and I Have the Honor factions,  did not participate in the vote.