Question: Ms. Badalyan, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, commenting on the remarks made by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan on certain provisions of the November 9 Trilateral Statement, delivered by Armenia’s PM during the conference on "Crossroads of Peace: Combining Security and Democracy", described PM’s statements as distorting the reality and accused the Republic of Armenia of neglecting its obligations. How would you comment on these statements made by the Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan?

Answer: We must turn to the facts. The Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, envisages the presence of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as a 5-kilometer-wide Lachin corridor under their control, but today, neither the Lachin corridor nor the Russian peacekeepers are present.

The Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, also outlines the return of internally displaced persons and refugees to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and its surrounding regions under the supervision of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, but Azerbaijan claims that there is no territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, there is no Nagorno-Karabakh, which, in fact, means renouncing this obligation under the Trilateral Statement. To date, no Armenian refugee or internally displaced person has returned to Nagorno-Karabakh or its surrounding regions.

The Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, envisages exchange of prisoners of war, hostages, and other detained persons, but despite this provision, Armenians are still kept in Azerbaijani prisons, including those taken hostage in October or November 2020. Azerbaijan insists that they are not prisoners of war. If they are not prisoners of war, it means that they are hostages or other detained persons: the formulation of the Trilateral Statement applies to all persons held in captivity.

Azerbaijan also frequently raises the issue of missing persons. The Republic of Armenia raises this issue as well, since about a thousand Armenians still remain missing due to the two wars, and we are ready to cooperate on this matter as well.

When it comes to point 9 of the Trilateral Statement, it stipulates that the Republic of Armenia organizes the movement of cargo, vehicles, and persons through its territory and guarantees their security. The provisions of the Statement are very clear in this regard. It is clear that the Republic of Armenia should do that within its jurisdiction and sovereignty. Regarding the physical presence of the Border Guard Service bodies of FSS of the Russian Federation, it should be mentioned that it is not foreseen in point 9 of the Trilateral Statement.

The “Crossroads of Peace” project of the Government of the Republic of Armenia also accurately outlines the roadmap for fulfilling the obligations undertaken by the Republic of Armenia, within which we have put forward proposals to the Azerbaijani side. Being interested in unblocking all transport and economic infrastructures of the region, as envisaged by the Trilateral Statement, we have already proposed and reaffirm our proposal to Azerbaijan to begin the process without further delay.