On February 8, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman, who is in Armenia on an official visit. Following the results of the meeting, the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Croatia held a joint press conference. In his speech during the press conference, Foreign Minister Mirzoyan specifically stated:

"Dear Mr. Minister,

Dear Colleagues,

I am glad to host my colleague Gordan Grlic Radman, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, in Yerevan today.

We had pretty full discussions on bilateral and multilateral agenda issues and critical geopolitical developments in the region.

I should note with satisfaction that in the history of our interstate relations, this is the first official visit of the Croatian Foreign Minister to Armenia, which is an excellent opportunity to evaluate the past path and give new impetus to bilateral cooperation. We value our relations with Croatia and are ready to raise them to a qualitatively new level.

Next year we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Croatia; at the same time, it should be emphasized that the ties and friendship between the Armenian and Croatian peoples have historical origins and go back centuries. In this regard, we can mention, for example, Saint Vlas, the patron saint of the city of Dubrovnik, the pan-Christian Armenian.

Dear Colleagues,

Of course, economic diplomacy, economic ties, and strengthening trade and economic relations between countries are of great importance in the modern world. The volume of trade between Armenia and Croatia currently does not reflect our bilateral potential in this field. And I would like to record with satisfaction that we are moving forward with small but steady steps in this field. I want to mention information technologies, tourism, agriculture, and other branches to activate Armenian-Croatian economic interaction.

In this context, I would like to welcome the holding of the Armenian-Croatian business forum in Yerevan today. The conference will contribute to revitalizing the ties between the two countries business circles and identifying investment opportunities.

Dear attendees,

Today, my colleague and I had detailed discussions on regional security and stability issues.

With pain, I have to record that despite the efforts made by Armenia, the security atmosphere in the region remains tense and fragile, and the probability of a new escalation is significant. The security challenges caused by the war unleashed against Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, aggression and occupation of the sovereign territory of Armenia by Azerbaijan in May and November 2021, as well as in September 2022, not only undermine the efforts of the Armenian government to establish peace, stability, and security in the South Caucasus, but they also threaten Armenian democracy.

It has been two months since Azerbaijan, in gross violation of its obligations under the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, and the provisions of international humanitarian law, blocked the Lachin Corridor, as a result of which the 120,000 Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh was under siege, deprived of access to the outside world. From the standard connection. The humanitarian crisis, which is intensifying daily, can turn into an absolute humanitarian disaster.

It is necessary to emphasize that the calls and appeals of many large and small states, international organizations, and authoritative non-governmental organizations have yet to influence the behavior of Azerbaijan.

In this case, I would like to emphasize the need for clear actions by the international community and the implementation of appropriate international mechanisms to stop the illegal blockade of Nagorno Karabakh, the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh Armenians, and preventing further aggression by Azerbaijan. In this regard, we also emphasize the Lachin Corridor and the mission of the international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh.

I want to emphasize the critical role of the European Union observation mission in ensuring stability around the borders of the Republic of Armenia.

Regular use of force, undisguised threats of use of power, and mass human rights violations cannot create a stable basis for peace and security in the region. Armenia has repeatedly announced its readiness for constructive dialogue in an environment free from hate speech, preconditions, and militant rhetoric for sustainable peace and development in the South Caucasus. We believe the peaceful settlement of existing problems and contradictions has no alternative.

I will conclude my speech with this. Once again, Mr. Minister, welcome to Armenia, and thank you for a very constructive and thorough dialogue."

***

Question ("Radio Liberty"). Mr. Minister, yesterday in Berlin, you announced that Azerbaijan responded to Yerevan's proposals and announced that the parties are working on the agreement's text. Could you explain more about what they answered? Does Baku accept Yerevan's proposal to expand its five principles to include security issues and the rights of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh? And Moscow declares it is ready to organize the postponed meeting on that issue in Moscow. Is Yerevan prepared to go to that meeting? And in that matter, does the place have any effect on Yerevan? And can we say that there is a problem, a crisis between Yerevan and Moscow? Thank you.

Ararat Mirzoyan. Thank you for the question. Indeed, I addressed this issue publicly yesterday in Berlin. I want to reiterate what I said. Peace treaty negotiations are continuous, and the parties exchange proposals, comments, and justifications in several stages. Then, a new location and new recommendations. And so the process is supposed to proceed. Parallel to this process, ministerial meetings are held where these proposals are discussed.

Indeed, we did not find it possible to participate in the regular discussion planned for December 23 in Moscow, obviously, due to the circumstances of the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor. But I have already mentioned that by not participating, we still communicated our proposals remotely. And now, a few days ago, 10-15 days ago, we received Azerbaijan's answer. We forwarded our following suggestions, then the following Azerbaijani recommendations, and we are at the discussion stage. This shows that the negotiation process, by and large, has not stopped; both comments and proposals have continued to be exchanged. And now, we will present our new words based on the terms of the Azerbaijani side.

As for the meetings, if you remember, we didn't cancel the Moscow meeting; we postponed the game. And, as this wording suggests, we will relaunch that postponed meeting at some opportune moment. The panel may take place in Moscow; the meetings may occur elsewhere. We had discussions in different capitals and cities if you follow the trajectory. I want to say that perhaps it would be fair to note that the choice of a town, a place, is undoubtedly essential, but it may not have an extremely significant impact on the process. And regarding this, we are ready to hold another meeting, the postponed meeting in Moscow.

Is there a crisis with Moscow or not? They are allied relations between our countries. There is a comprehensive bilateral and multilateral agenda; there are many agreements and disagreements on specific issues, including public ones, related to CSTO's role and political assessments or lack thereof. To call them a crisis is an overstatement. We are constantly in contact with our Russian partners; as I already mentioned, we discuss all possible issues of the multi-branch agenda, all those issues where there is agreement and all those where there is no agreement so far.

Question ("Radio Liberty"). Sorry, Mr. Minister, you didn't specify whether Baku accepts Yerevan's proposals.

Ararat Mirzoyan. I won't consider it appropriate to reveal the content of the proposals entirely because we are talking about details and the negotiation process. Then the parties' positions on various issues have hardened at different stages; in some cases, they are approaching each other and remain pretty far apart. Therefore, it is probably not politically expedient to take any detail separately and say the parties' positions on the issue because tomorrow, it may be a completely different picture. It was possible to bring our positions closer in some cases. Still, the Armenian side has fundamental issues in this process, and we have also publicly stated these issues.

Question ("Public TV station"). I am asking the two ministers. In the last two years, Azerbaijan has carried out several aggressions against the territorial integrity of Armenia and occupied some parts of the country. And for the previous two months, the official Baku has been keeping the Lachin Corridor, and thus the whole of Artsakh, under siege. Against this background, the EU decided to deploy a long-term monitoring mission in Armenia. What do you think is this EU mission, and can the EU contribute to curbing Azerbaijan's aggressive actions and establishing peace and stability in the region?

Ararat Mirzoyan. Yes, I think that the European Union, like the entire international community, has a severe role to play both in the further discussion of the rights and security of Nagorno Karabakh and the elimination of the current blockade, and in general, it is one of regionalization. Peace negotiations, the diplomatic way, and the international community and, in particular, the European Union have a role to play.