Signing a peace document — if it is signed — is a positive step. But in the absence of international guarantees, it has very little force, said Robert Kocharyan, the second President of Armenia, during his press conference Tuesday.

The former president reminded that Armenia was not formally engaged in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and therefore it is unclear what the peace treaty with Azerbaijan would actually address.

“The most interesting thing is that during the 44-day war [in 2020], martial law was declared in Armenia — and we lost. In [19]92–[19]93 [i.e. during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war], there was no martial law, no mobilization — and we won,” Kocharyan said.

“I also have a hard time understanding what all this is for. If the treaty is signed, that’s good. But if the document has no guarantors, there are no international consequence mechanisms in case of violations, that is, it’s not a document, but a piece of paper meant for elections, to be used in the election campaign, rather than for peace,” the former president of Armenia noted.