After the 44-day war, we see reshuffling of the forces and influences of both regional and major actors in the South Caucasus, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian said at the sitting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Regional and Eurasian Integration dedicated  the current challenges to regional and Eurasian integration in post-war Armenia.

However, the Minister said, “it can be stated that the Russian Federation has played a key role in terms of maintaining the ceasefire, ensuring security and resolving current humanitarian issues in the region. Turkey’s ambitions in regional processes have also obviously increased.”

He stressed that ensuring the Armenian people’s comprehensive security in the region is a key direction of Armenia’s foreign policy.

“The unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains one of the key regional challenges. The consequences of the use of force against Artsakh by Azerbaijan with the direct participation of Turkey, and the occupation of part of the territories of Artsakh cannot be considered a settlement of the conflict. Only a negotiated political settlement that respects the rights of all and determines the final status of Artsakh can be considered the end of the conflict,” the Foreign Minister emphasized.

Minister Aivazian noted that the Armenian side is committed to the resumption of the settlement process, but first of all an environment conducive to peace must be created, but added that “no preconditions for that are noticeable from the Azerbaijani side.”

“This is evidenced by Azerbaijan’s failure to comply with the humanitarian part of the November 9 trilateral statement, which is particularly reflected in the delay pf the repatriation of prisoners.

“At the same time, our position remains unchanged: the Minsk Group co-chairmanship is the only internationally recognized format for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. We will continue to support that format,” the Minister stated.