Armenia Needs Strong Security Guarantees: Papuashvili on the Peace Agreement

YEREVAN — Simon Papuashvili, Director of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus Programs at the organization International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), doubts that the mere signing of a peace agreement can prevent further aggression by Azerbaijan against Armenia.

In an interview with Armenpress in Brussels, Papuashvili emphasized that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s regime has repeatedly demonstrated disregard for its international obligations in recent years.

“I view the prospect of signing any peace agreement with Azerbaijan at this time with skepticism. The Aliyev regime has repeatedly violated its international legal obligations, and I deeply doubt that a peace agreement alone would be sufficient to deter further Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia. Instead, I firmly believe that Armenia needs strong security guarantees from its European allies. These guarantees must include strengthening the country’s defense and military capabilities to effectively deter future Azerbaijani attacks,” Papuashvili said.

He expressed regret that we still live in a world where the use of force remains the only truly influential language in international relations.

Armenia and Azerbaijan have announced that they have completed negotiations on the text of the peace agreement.

It is worth recalling that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has proposed starting consultations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to sign the finalized version of the peace treaty between the two countries.