NATO supports Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and its aspirations for peace, the group’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Yerevan on Tuesday during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The NATO chief was on the last leg of his tour of the Caucasus having visited Azerbaijan and Georgia.
While in Baku on Monday, Stoltenberg, was quoted as praising Azerbaijan’s close military ties with Turkey, which has boasted its help and alliance to Baku during the 2020 Artsakh War.
“The close cooperation between the Azerbaijani army and the Turkish armed forces will greatly contribute to the deepening of [Azerbaijan’s] relations with NATO,” Azerbaijani media quoted Stoltenberg as saying during talks with Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov.
During his meeting with Pashinyan, the two reportedly discussed the importance of stability in the South Caucasus.
“This [stability] is important for Euro-Atlantic security as we face a more dangerous world. Today, Armenia and Azerbaijan have a chance to achieve lasting peace after years of conflict. That is why I call on the two countries to reach an agreement that will pave the way for the normalization of relations and lasting peace for your peoples. NATO supports Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and peaceful aspirations,” Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General also emphasized that Armenia has been a NATO partner for a long time and welcomed and praised Armenia’s contribution to NATO missions and operations. Stoltenberg emphasized that, for nearly 20 years, Armenia has been one of the most important partners of NATO’s peacekeeping mission, “helping to guarantee a safe and secure environment for all communities living in Kosovo.”
Stoltenberg also addressed the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine is a sobering reminder that we cannot help but value peace. I applaud your solidarity with Ukraine and call on all partners to do everything in their power to prevent Putin from winning his war of aggression,” he said.
The NATO chief said that the situation on the battlefield remains critical, that is why, according to him, their support should be increased, not decreased.
In his opinion, “if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, there is a real risk that his aggression will not stop there, and that other authoritarian entities will be inspired by it.”
The Kremlin responded to Stoltenberg’s visit to the Caucasus.
“NATO’s desire to strengthen its presence in the South Caucasus is well known to us; it can be seen with the naked eye,” the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
“There is also the understanding that NATO’s attempts to expand [its] influence can hardly increase stability and predictability of the situation in the South Caucasus. Those contacts are the sovereign right of the [South] Caucasus states. We are watching carefully and mainly intend to orientate ourselves with our bilateral relations and cooperation tools that our parties have,” Peskov added, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
Pashinyan, on his end, called for concrete support from the international community, including NATO, for the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying Yerevan “unequivocally” rejects any policy of coercion and threats.
“I also presented to the General Secretary the proposals for a simultaneous withdrawal of troops from the Armenia-Azerbaijan border of 1991, mutual arms control, and the signing of a non-aggression pact, which have not received a positive response from official Baku to date,” Pashinyan said during the press conference.
“We are also committed to the agenda of normalizing relations with Turkey. We believe that the implementation of the agreements reached with Turkey in 2022, which were subsequently reaffirmed, may have a positive impact on the establishment of stability in the South Caucasus region,” Pashinyan added.
He said that during his conversation with the Stoltenberg, they also had the opportunity to discuss reform efforts in Armenia’s Armed Forces.
“I emphasized that this process is not directed against any state and is aimed at increasing the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Armenia in order to ensure the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan added.
