‘Azerbaijan disrupts possibility for peace with its actions, we will act accordingly’ – Pashinyan says

Armenia’s actions will be equivalent to Azerbaijan’s rhetoric, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a graduation ceremony of the 2017-2018 military academies at the defense ministry headquarters in Yerevan.

“We believe that the settlement of the issue through a peaceful, negotiated path is important and possible, but we are also saying that this requires appropriate atmosphere. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan is disrupting the atmosphere of peace and the possibility with its actions and rhetoric, and we will be equivalent to the situation,” the PM said.

He said that no stance over this issue is hardened and if Azerbaijan were to revise its attitude and contribute to establishing an atmosphere of peace, Armenia too will take equivalent actions. Speaking about Artsakh’s participation in the talks, the PM said his stance remains the same.

“We find Artsakh’s involvement in the negotiations process to be important. I can negotiate on behalf of Armenia, but I cannot negotiate on behalf of Artsakh, because Artsakh has elected officials and structures for this. We are ready for negotiations and are dedicated to the efforts of solving this issue peacefully, there can’t be two opinions here,” Pashinyan said.

Speaking about defense minister Davit Tonoyan’s latest strong statements towards Azerbaijan, the PM said : “Davit Tonoyan did it all right. It is his job to make such statements, and not only make such statements but also provide the content of these statements if needed,” he said.