Yeghishe Kirakosyan: No indication that Armenia is considering withdrawing its claims

ArmInfo. Armenia's representative on international legal affairs, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, declined to comment on Armenia's decision to withdraw its claims against Azerbaijan from the International Criminal Court.

"I cannot raise issues that might be discussed internally," Kirakosyan said during a conversation with journalists in parliament on December 9 in response to a question about the statement by RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan regarding the potential withdrawal of class action lawsuits against Azerbaijan from international courts.  He advised that any such questions should be directed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

"I cannot comment on the statements by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. I believe it would be appropriate to discuss this matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Kirakosyan said.  At the same time, he added that there is currently no indication that Armenia is considering withdrawing its claims. Speaking about potential claims by Azerbaijan, Kirakosyan noted that at the moment there are already claims against Armenia in two courts - the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Court of Justice, as well as two arbitration proceedings.

In this regard, Kirakosyan clarified that the ECHR is currently considering four interstate proceedings against Azerbaijan, two claims against Armenia and four claims by Armenia related to the 44-day war, illegal trials of prisoners and human rights violations by Azerbaijani military personnel on Armenian territory. According to him, these claims also pertain to the forced displacement of Artsakh residents and associated violations. "Violations under consideration include the closure of the Lachin corridor and ongoing events since March 2022, as well as the entire forced displacement process. The first complaint regarding the war has already gone through written procedures at the ECHR. Armenia has presented its position, and we are now awaiting   the court's oral response and public hearings," Kirakosyan clarified.

At the same time, according to him, the conclusions on the issues of forced displacement were only submitted this year, so they will be studied later. "However, we presented our conclusion in full at the beginning of this year. There is a process in the International Court of Justice related to racial discrimination. Armenia filed its claim back in 2021 and put forwards five demands for appropriate measures.  The court made rulings on three of them, confirming jurisdiction over some of the Armenian requests and rejecting most of the Azerbaijani ones," Kirakosyan explained. Regarding the issue of prisoners' return, he noted that the judicial authorities are not entirely suitable for handling this matter. "We raised the issue of demanding the return of prisoners, but it was rejected. However, that was a long time ago. The issue of returning prisoners is discussed more on the political platform. Legal processes in this regard offer legal guarantees for the prisoners there. And the court is an independent body and makes decisions based on international law," Kirakosyan concluded.