According to Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Yerevan has sent Baku a new six-point proposal, in response to the earlier five-point plan.
Grigoryan informed reporters yesterday that a new plan had been sent to Baku. While he did not specify what the new points were, he confirmed that the document was a response to Azerbaijan’s earlier proposal, which included: the mutual recognition of territorial integrity; mutual confirmation of the absence of territorial claims; mutual obligation not to use force in resolving disputes; delimiting and demarcating the border; and unblocking transport connections.
Pashinyan’s government had already stated that these points were not unacceptable. The supposed acceptance of the issues regarding territorial integrity and the absence of territorial claims are part of the reasons for the current anti-government protests taking place in Yerevan, and across Armenia
Grigoryan said that the two proposal should be merged together for a “5+6 points”, as a start to negotiations over a peace treaty in order to find a long term-solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
At time of writing, there has been no official response from Azerbaijan, though Grigoryan said that he had not seen a public rejection by Baku, adding that there was “an understanding in our discussions that these two packages should be joined, and the negotiations should start”. He clarified that this was an understanding shared by “the Azerbaijani side, and all other international partners”.
According to CivilNet, local Armenian media is reporting that the plan likely includes points on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the rights of its ethnic Armenian residents. During his press conference, Grigoryan stated that the signing of a peace treaty must involve a settlement to the Karabakh conflict, noting that “We see the resolution to the conflict through ensuring security—the security of our compatriots living in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as ensuring rights. A status for Nagorno-Karabakh must be determined accordingly.”
He also touched upon the commission to delimit and demarcate the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was supposed to have been established by the end of April. Grigoryan said that while this deadline had not been met, intensive discussions were currently taking place, with the hope that a meeting would be held soon.