Lemkin Institute: Washington deal prioritizes geopolitics and US  interests over Armenia`s security

ArmInfo.  The Washington deal, concluded on August 8 between Armenia and Azerbaijan, prioritizes geopolitics and US interests overArmenia's security, as noted in a statement issued by the Lemkin Institute for the  Prevention of Genocide. The statement reads as follows:

" On 8 August 2025, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani  President Ilham Aliyev met at the White House to sign a Joint  Declaration and initial a U.S.-brokered "peace deal." The Lemkin  Institute warns that the premature celebration of peace dangerously  ignores Azerbaijan's genocidal record and ongoing threats to Armenian  sovereignty. The current text of the agreement omits core issues that  are essential to lasting peace in the region: justice for the 2023  Artsakh Genocide, the rights of 100,000 displaced Armenians, the  release of Armenian POWs and political prisoners, the fate of  cultural heritage, and mechanisms for accountability.

Instead, it forces Armenia to withdraw its ICJ and ECtHR cases -  erasing the only legal avenues for truth and justice. It also  strengthens Azerbaijan's hand by removing third party monitoring  along the border, granting Azerbaijan's long-sought corridor through  Armenia's Syunik province, opening U.S. aid to Azerbaijan, and  ignoring Baku's ongoing occupation of Armenian territory and  genocidal rhetoric towards Armenians. The Lemkin Institute stresses  that this deal prioritizes geopolitics and U.S. interests over  Armenian security. Without accountability, justice, and guarantees  for Armenian sovereignty, the agreement risks legitimizing  Azerbaijan's expansionist agenda, emboldening further aggression, and  even threatening the survival of Armenia as a state. We welcome all  genuine efforts to create peace but do not believe that genocidal  states can be entrusted with the futures of their permanent targets.  For Armenia to be secure, the U.S. will need to force Azerbaijan to  make changes and concessions as required by international law,  including the withdrawal from Armenian territory, the release of all  Armenian hostages, and domestic reforms that dismantle official  genocidal anti-Armenianism. The U.S. will also need to support an  independent justice mechanism that can ensure that the historical  grievances of both countries are addressed."