Armenia ready to resume talks with Azebaijan on resolving the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh , says Pashinyan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday announced his country’s readiness to resume talks with Azerbaijan on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

According to Tass News Agency, Pashinyan said that “returning to the call of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to renew the talks I would like to stress that Armenia is ready to participate in the talks both at the high and highest levels, we are awaiting specific proposals”.

“Overcoming hostility can and should become the key component of Armenia’s regional agenda.” “Deepening and normalizing relations between neighboring countries is an important direction of government policy. Unfortunately, some forces are trying to distort Armenia’s intentions claiming that Armenia named a reform of armed forces a priority in order to adopt an aggressive policy with regards to neighboring countries. The Armenian Armed Forces are developing not for aggression but for the protection from aggression,” he added.

Pashinyan expressed his country’s readiness to resume the work of the Tripartite Committee that comprises the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan to end the ban on regional contacts.

 He said: “I believe that the issue of opening regional contacts can be resolved quickly, and we should soon resume the work of the Committee of Deputy Prime Ministers to resume regional contacts and be more active and effective in implementing Economic and transportation projects in the region.

Last November, Armenia and Azerbaijan concluded a ceasefire deal, sponsored by Russia. The agreement ended a conflict between Baku and Yerevan on Nagorno-Karabakh that lasted for a month and a half.

Hamda Mustafa