Despite all difficulties, the security threats, Armenia is consistently working towards establishment of durable peace in the South Caucasus. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).

"We firmly believe peace has no alternative, and only agreements reached through dialogue can bring lasting stability and regional progress. Perhaps, this vision could not have been defined better than through Mahatma Gandhi’s famous message: “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.”

With this understanding, Armenia has been engaged in good faith in the peace process with Azerbaijan and today, more than ever, we are close to the signing of the peace treaty, a document establishing interstate relations between the two countries, founded on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, and refraining from use of force or threat of force. 

Importantly, last year, bilateral negotiations already led to signing of the Regulation for border delimitation between Armenia and Azerbaijan, recognizing the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration as the delimitation basis: the Alma-Ata Declaration reconfirmed that after the breakup of the Soviet Union the administrative boundaries of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic had become international borders between the two independent republics. We have successfully delimited over 12 kilometers of border and are bilaterally working towards efficient continuation of the process, which is significantly contributing to regional stability.

Within the context of normalization, we have presented concrete, mutually beneficial proposals to Azerbaijan on the unblocking of regional transport infrastructure, as a result of which both Azerbaijan and Armenia can transport goods through each other’s railway infrastructure.  

Additionally, for the sake of regional stability and predictability we have put forward a proposal on mutual arms control and verification mechanism. 

Unfortunately, we can not state that our constructive approach is fully reciprocated by Azerbaijan. Moreover, we continue hearing high-level public statements and narratives pertaining territorial claims against the sovereign Republic of Armenia, including through the so-called "Western Azerbaijan" narrative. 

At the same time, there are still humanitarian issues, namely the pending release of the detainees. As we speak, the staged trials against 23 Armenian individuals – who are arbitrarily detained, are taking place in Azerbaijan with disregard of human rights standards for due process. Achieving complete settlement and durable peace requires preparing societies for reconciliation; unresolved humanitarian issues can only hinder that process," he said in his speech.