I don’t think stirring up the past is a constructive approach that can be beneficial, the Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated during a discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, responding to the preliminary conditions voiced by the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov.

“If we now focus on history and start discussing which territory belonged to whom 100 years ago, who killed more people, we will be on the path to yet another conflict. The government and people of Armenia stand for establishing a lasting peace. After lengthy negotiations, we managed to agree on the text of a peace treaty and proposed to immediately begin consultations on the place and date of its signing.

Will the peace treaty resolve all possible issues? Of course not. It is the beginning of establishing relations. Many questions remain, and we can continue to discuss them. The agreed text of the treaty includes a provision stipulating the creation of a bilateral commission to discuss all issues. What do we, as foreign ministers, offer our societies? Should we delve deep into history, or should we ensure a united future and prosperity for our citizens?

There are now all the positive prerequisites for signing the agreement, starting a new stage of dialogue, and opening a new page of peaceful relations in the region.

We have repeatedly expressed our readiness to initiate the process of dissolving the Minsk Group. This structure can be dissolved when there is no longer a conflict.

Do we currently have a conflict or not? On the ground, no. But has a peace agreement on the establishment of relations been signed and ratified? In our view, the solution is to sign the agreement, end the conflict at the institutional level, and dissolve [the OSCE MG—ed.] on the same day by signing one document after another.

Let us sign the peace treaty, send a joint document on dissolution to the OSCE member states and the secretariat, create a bilateral commission, and discuss all possible issues.

Bayramov also made a statement regarding the Constitution of Armenia. We also have concerns regarding the Constitution of Azerbaijan, but we do not speak about them. The Constitution of Azerbaijan refers to the Declaration of Independence, in which Azerbaijan declares itself the successor of the first Azerbaijani Republic.

And the first Azerbaijani Republic proclaimed its sovereignty over territories much larger than those of the current Republic of Azerbaijan, including present-day sovereign territories of Armenia.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached an agreement on the text of the treaty, recognizing each other’s territorial integrity within the borders that existed at the time of the collapse of the USSR. This provides answers to many questions. Will we move forward on this basis, or will we dismantle this historic achievement and raise new questions? In that case, the process will never end,” Mirzoyan emphasized.

It is worth noting that the discussion was also attended by the Foreign Ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan.