YEREVAN — Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has dismissed the possibility that recent remarks by Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev could introduce an additional precondition for signing a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Speaking in parliament, Mirzoyan responded to a question from lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan of the Strong Armenia faction, who asked whether Hajiyev’s latest statement could become another condition imposed by Baku before the peace agreement is signed.
“If that is how you are framing the question, I believe there cannot be another precondition,” Mirzoyan replied.
The remarks followed a statement by Hajiyev the previous day, in which he asserted that Armenia and Armenian society should apologize to Azerbaijanis who, according to him, had been unable to return to their former places of residence for 30 years.
Addressing the broader issue of reconciliation, Mirzoyan acknowledged the deep suffering experienced by both societies during decades of conflict.
“The wounds are still very fresh. The conflict has only recently ended. There have been casualties and bloodshed. No conflict or war is without suffering,” Mirzoyan said.
He emphasized that genuine reconciliation requires recognizing the pain experienced on both sides rather than engaging in comparisons over which society has suffered more.
“Societies must reconcile. There is pain here, and there is pain there. We can try to measure whose pain is greater, but that is another matter,” he stated.
Mirzoyan stressed that the priority should be to bring the conflict to a definitive end and move toward a new era of peaceful relations.
“We must put an end to this conflict and enter a phase of peace and cooperation,” the foreign minister concluded.
