Mirzoyan: No one has ever forced Armenia to participate in the conflict surrounding Ukraine

ArmInfo. No one has forced Armenia to participate in the conflict surrounding Ukraine. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this in an interview with the Finnish news agency Lannen Media.  When asked by a journalist about the likelihood of the pressure being placed on Armenia to participate in the conflict surrounding Ukraine, given the military alliance with the Russian Federation, Mirzoyan stated:

"Frankly speaking, we have never been offered, pressured, or expected to participate in the war in Ukraine.  We have no experience with such a situation." Referring to Armenia's membership in the CSTO, Mirzoyan recalled that formally, the Republic is still part of this union. "However, Armenia has frozen its participation in the organization's activities. For decades, we believed that being in this military alliance was necessary from a military standpoint due to common threats and concerns, particularly, in relation to a possible aggression against the territorial integrity and independence of the Republic of Armenia. We believed that this organization would help us protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. Unfortunately, in recent years, Armenia has experienced several attacks and violations of its internationally recognized borders, yet it never received real support when these incidents occurred. Allies with such obligations should help each other, this is the meaning of a military alliance," the Armenian minister said. According to him, this indifference has led to great disappointment and has truly changed public opinion in Armenia. "We are in a big process. I cannot predict where this process will lead us, but I can say that we are deepening our relations with European partners," the minister added.

At the same time, Mirzoyan explained that this is about the economy, economic sustainability,  political dialogue and mutual understanding. The head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry recalled that the EU is involved in ensuring Armenia's security. "There is a civilian EU mission in Armenia that monitors the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Several years ago, such a turn of events

could have been unimaginable," the minister noted.

In this vein, already touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization, Mirzoyan noted the progress in the process of delimiting the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. According to him, this is positive news in the process of normalizing relations with Azerbaijan.  "There is a border, and we know where it is. It is determined by the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, signed by the former Soviet republics, to which administrative borders turned into state borders. Of course, the commissions of the two countries should work together on further delimitation and clear demarcation," the head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry said. Mirzoyan, labeling the demarcation of the border as a guarantee of future stability, noted: "As far as any guarantees are possible nowadays, the presence of a clearly defined border is a very strong mechanism." In the context of the issue of opening communications, the minister noted that Armenia and Azerbaijan can come to decisions that will be acceptable to both sides.

"We can organize the transit of Armenian goods through the territory of Azerbaijan and vice versa, Azerbaijani goods through the territory of Armenia. At the first stage, we can resume railway transit and gradually expand it," he said.  Referring to the conclusion of a peace agreement, Mirzoyan noted that this is the third component of the settlement of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "15 out of 17 articles of the agreement have been agreed upon. I think we could have finalized and signed the agreement even before the COP29 climate summit in Baku. Unfortunately, this did not happen, but now we are ready to do it as soon as possible.

We can say that this is a moment of hope. I would say that we are very close. But, despite the tragic past of our two states and societies, there is a chance to turn the page of enmity. It is difficult to understand, forget, forgive, but enough blood has been shed in our region, and now we have the opportunity to look to the future," Mirzoyan expressed confidence.  Regarding the internal  political crisis in Armenia after the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020, the Minister noted that the Prime Minister, the government and the political team decided to hold early parliamentary elections. "We addressed the people and asked two things: do they support deeper democratic reforms and a peace agenda, that is, the government's policy. We again received the majority of votes. We will ask this question again in the 2026 elections, although polls also show support for the government's policy," Mirzoyan said, lying, because they did not fulfill any of the points on the election agenda, including the issue of ensuring the security of Artsakh and the Armenian population of Artsakh.

He further assured that the Armenian authorities are currently focused on strengthening the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. "On the other hand, we are focused on prosperity, continuous modernization and democratization of our country, and this, naturally, brings us closer to Europe and elections that are in line with your value choice. At the same time, with all due respect to procedures and rules, perhaps the time has come to act differently than usual. This may apply to both geopolitical decisions and decisions of domestic importance. The world is changing. Perhaps the time has come to make bold political decisions," the Armenian Foreign Minister concluded.