PM says Armenia made proposals to Azerbaijan for local withdrawal of troops as well

The situation in the world and in the region is tense, and we consider ourselves responsible for reducing that tension and finding fundamental solutions. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia.

"In this sense, yes, we believe that the peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan should start as soon as possible. Moreover, the need to accelerate the work towards the demarcation and delimitation of borders should be noted—simultaneously with steps that increase the level of border security and stability. You know, of course, that we have proposed a ‘mirror’ withdrawal of troops from the border—considering the de jure approved boundary of Armenia and Azerbaijan of the Soviet times as the ‘compass’ for withdrawal," Pashinyan added.

The PM, however, stressed that in addition to the full withdrawal, Armenia has also made proposals for the local withdrawal of troops, and is waiting for Azerbaijan's response here as well.

"By the way, after a number of recent events, we did not figure out whether or not Azerbaijan wants the opening of regional communications. If he wants, our proposals remain in force, and we are ready to implement them at any time—literally at any time. I have said about the Armenian Crossroads project several times; now I do not see the need to go into details," the Armenian premier stated.