The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has voiced serious concern over the recently signed trilateral memorandum in Washington, describing it as another “dangerous capitulatory document signed by Armenia’s leaders under Azerbaijani aggression, unilateral demands, and geopolitical pressure.”
According to the party’s statement, the agreement legitimizes the ethnic cleansing and displacement carried out by the Baku regime in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“While recognizing U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace efforts, we must note that by signing this agreement, Armenia’s reckless leaders are endangering the nation’s sovereignty and sacrificing the rights of the people of Artsakh, legitimizing the ethnic cleansing and dispossession committed by Baku,” the statement reads.
The party highlights that:
- The memorandum reflects exclusively the interests of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and other states driven by geopolitical rivalries in the South Caucasus, at the expense of Armenia’s vital and security interests.
- It ignores the mandatory requirement for Azerbaijani forces to withdraw from Armenia’s occupied territories.
- It includes no obligation to release illegally detained Armenian prisoners and Nagorno-Karabakh’s political leaders from Azerbaijani prisons.
- Instead of providing real international guarantees for Armenia’s security, borders, and territorial integrity, it contains vague and non-binding promises.
- It omits any provisions on the protection of the property, cultural, and spiritual heritage of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as their political rights.
- Armenia’s consent to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group — the only internationally recognized negotiation format — is an unacceptable retreat from established conflict-resolution principles, resulting from overt Azerbaijani pressure and amounting to international justification of forced displacement.
- The unilateral blow dealt by Prime Minister Pashinyan’s administration to Armenian-Russian alliance ties, without providing realistic alternatives, disrupts the strategic balance and exposes the state to new threats and challenges.
- As with other important agreements, the memorandum’s contents were concealed from Armenian citizens and the National Assembly. Decisions of such critical importance cannot be made by a government lacking domestic legitimacy.
- The current developments are the result of the ruling regime’s and its leader’s obsession with remaining in power at all costs, even through undermining national and state interests.
The RPA states that under such conditions, any document regulating Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, including the “Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan,” cannot promote stable and just peace. Instead, it will restrict Armenia’s security capabilities and tie its foreign policy hands.
The party demands:
a) Giving top priority to the immediate release of all Armenian prisoners and unlawfully detained persons held by Azerbaijan.
b) The unconditional withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from Armenia’s occupied territories, without linking it to the uncertain border delimitation process.
c) Recognition of the right of return for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of any process toward stability and lasting peace in the region.
d) Establishment of legally binding international security guarantees and practical mechanisms to ensure Armenia’s territorial integrity, peaceful development, and vital interests.
e) Rejection of any demand implying the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group.
The statement concludes that true peace and lasting stability in the region require fair, balanced, and mutually acceptable solutions, not forced and politically driven agreements.
While supporting peace and fully sovereign operation of communication routes as principles of Armenia’s foreign policy, the RPA refuses to accept an imposed peace declaration that is unjust, unenforceable, and fails to safeguard Armenian rights, especially when vital national interests, territorial integrity, and sovereign dignity continue to be violated.
On August 8, at the White House, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a joint declaration following their trilateral meeting. In the presence of the three leaders, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov initialed the “Agreement on Peace and Establishment of Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
