Armenian deputy PM argues with Azerbaijani PM at CIS meeting of heads of governments

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan clashed with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov at the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government.

“Despite its November 9 commitments, Azerbaijan continues to torpedo the implementation of the agreements, including the detention of many Armenian prisoners of war, which is not only a gross violation of Article 8 of the November 9, 2020 trilateral declaration, but also of international humanitarian law. Azerbaijan exaggerates the idea of ​​the corridor threatening to use force,” said A Grigoryan, emphasizing that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by force.

During the exchange of views after his speech, the Azerbaijani prime minister Azerbaijan is committed to fulfilling all the provisions of the November 9 agreement. He insisted that Azerbaijan was “fulfilling the provisions of the agreement on the return of prisoners of war” by returning 29 Armenian prisoners of war who were “saboteurs”, and 33 others have been convicted by Azerbaijani courts and will bear the appropriate responsibility.” He insisted that “there is no Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the territory of Azerbaijan!”

In response Grigoryan said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by force. The settlement of the conflict can be achieved through peaceful negotiations, exclusively under the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.”