The Washington agreement must be presented to the people with a substantive approach, said the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I.

“The Armenia-Azerbaijan agreement, recently signed in the US capital, with the intervention and witnessing of the US President, was undoubtedly a unique phenomenon. We will leave it to political analysts to evaluate the short-term or long-term, positive or negative consequences of the aforementioned agreement for Armenia.

However, I would like to remind that Armenia must consider that any peace agreement full of unilateral concessions, conditional principles, and especially equivocal points can become a serious danger for Armenia. Therefore, the aforementioned agreement must be presented to the people with a substantive approach.

It is necessary that the people have something to say in connection the agreement. I would like to remind that today Armenia is at risk of becoming a theater stage for a clash of geopolitical forces,” said Aram I.

He noted that the peace agreement signed in Washington DC on August 8 amid a shower of smiles and promises will bring hope and smiles to the families of the casualties and the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), but history reminds that one should not be guided by temporary interests and that Armenia should pursue a balanced policy based on its own interests.

Aram I touched also upon the Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan and the anti-Armenian policy pursued by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, and emphasized that Artsakh is not a thing of the past, and one must pursue the inviolable right of the Artsakh people to return to Artsakh, as well as the international law on the protection of churches.