Pashinyan talked about Armenia's earthquake aid to Turkey
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the aid his country sent after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes in Turkey had a positive response and said, "If this step will have political consequences, it would be better, but humanitarian aid was our first motivation." said.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili participated as speakers in a panel organized as part of the 59th Munich Security Conference.
Pashinyan mentioned the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that occurred in Turkey in the panel and noted that they sent aid and search and rescue teams to Turkey with only humanitarian motivations. "If this step will have political consequences, it would be better, but humanitarian aid was our first motivation," Pashinyan said.
Aliyev: We are working on a peace agreement as Azerbaijan and Armenia
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said, "As Azerbaijan and Armenia, we are working on a peace agreement. This can be a good example that countries with serious historical disagreements can come together and close the page of hostility." said.
Aliyev, in the panel titled "Topping the Mountains? Building Security in the South Caucasus", said that although the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for nearly a year, has not had a direct impact on his country, the geopolitical situation in general has changed, and he probably cannot return to the pre-war situation.
Stating that they faced some commercial disadvantages and advantages due to the war, Aliyev stated that they also experienced a war (Second Karabakh War) about 2 years ago and it lasted for 44 days.
Expressing that they know what the war is and what kind of pain and destruction it brings to the peoples, Aliyev said:
"Therefore, of course we want peace in Eurasia. I think that Azerbaijan and Armenia should show this as a transition from the long-standing stalemate. Mutual hatred and hostility should end. Azerbaijan and Armenia are currently working on a peace agreement. I hope we will do this as soon as possible. I think this could be a good example of how countries with serious historical disagreements can come together and close the page of hostility."
Aliyev, referring to the tripartite meeting with the US Minister of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken and Pashinyan in Munich yesterday regarding the peace talks with Armenia, referred to the "peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia" in the region and "Azerbaijan's meeting with the Armenian population in Karabakh". He stated that there is a common understanding in the direction of a two-pronged approach.
Underlining that they are ready for this, Aliyev stated that they can do this with representatives of the Armenian community living in the region, but not with people coming from Russia.
Aliyev reminded that Karabakh and the surrounding provinces remained under Armenian occupation for 30 years and added that there is no sanction on Armenia in this regard.
"There are many risks in our region that need to be managed"
Pashinyan, on the other hand, said that he agreed with the idea that the meeting of the leaders of the three countries for the first time in such a format could be a historic meeting.
Mentioning the importance of determining the content of the history that is currently being created, Pashinyan mentioned that they should be result-oriented even if they achieve different outputs and results.
"Global instability cannot make things better in our region. For a long time, all international attention has focused on Ukraine, and this poses new risks for our region. It is also very important to keep international attention in our region, because there are many risks that need to be managed in our region," Pashinyan said. he said.
Pointing out that they are committed to the democratic reform agenda, Pashinyan said that they believe that the development of democratic institutions such as democratic reforms, rule of law, human rights and independent judiciary will improve the general situation in their region.
"The establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey will also be very positive in terms of the international situation."
Pashinyan noted that they sent aid and search and rescue teams to Turkey, which was affected by the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş, only with humanitarian motivations.
Stating that they received very positive reactions from the Turkish government in this process, Pashinyan said, "If this step will have political consequences, it would be better, but humanitarian aid was our first motivation." he said.
Pashinyan stated that he had dialogues with Turkey through special envoys before the earthquakes and said, "The establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey and the opening of borders will be very positive not only in terms of the regional situation but also in terms of the international situation." said.
