Aliyev again listed that demand among his preconditions for an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace deal in a televised interview aired on Tuesday. He also threatened to put an end to “fascism” in Armenia and to forcibly open a land corridor through Armenian territory.
Pashinian has until now linked the dissolution of the Minsk Group, which had been set up in the early 1990s to deal with the Karabakh conflict, to the signing of the peace treaty.
In yet another response to Aliyev’s bellicose remarks, Pashinian said he is proposing that the OSCE disband the Minsk Group that had for decades been co-headed by the United States, Russia and France.
“When peace is an established fact, the existence of this format, I think, can really raise questions,” he said. “The question here is the time frame because … there is no need to put the cart before the horse.”
The abolition of the Minsk Group has to be initiated by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Pashinian did not specify when Yerevan will submit a relevant request to the OSCE.
As recently as two weeks ago, the Armenian premier said such a move should also require Baku to stop to referring to much of modern-day Armenia’s territory as “Western Azerbaijan.” Aliyev kept using that term on Tuesday, however, saying that Armenia must ensure the return of Azerbaijanis who had lived there in Soviet times.
Writing on Facebook earlier on Thursday, Pashinian said the continuing references to “Western Azerbaijan” amount to territorial claims to Armenia. He also claimed that by continuing to demand an end to Armenia’s arms acquisitions Baku may be preparing the ground for “unhindered aggression” against his country.
At the same time, Pashinian reiterated his calls for the quick signing of the bilateral peace treaty and the establishment of Armenian-Azerbaijani transport links.
Aliyev insisted on the opening of an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave as well as Turkey which would pass through Armenia’s Syunik region bordering Iran. “The Zangezur corridor must be opened and it will be opened,” he said, adding that “the factor of force” is dominant in international affairs these days.
Armenian opposition figures and other critics of the government portrayed Aliyev’s latest threats as further proof that Pashinian’s appeasement policy is only encouraging Azerbaijan to demand more Armenian concessions and will not bring peace. They claimed that Baku is gearing up for a large-scale invasion of Armenia.