Former Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan said he could not yet assess the declarative statements made after the recent trilateral meeting in Washington, noting that “everything will become clear when practical steps are taken.” He made the remarks after a court hearing, News.am reports.
“We need to see that what is written in the peace declaration is implemented on the ground from the security perspective — that demarcation is carried out as precisely as possible. This will only be clear once practical measures begin,” he said.
Speaking about the Trump Route, Tonoyan noted: “I could not imagine such an outcome; at least what I envisioned was formulated in the November 9 agreements. I could not imagine the loss of Artsakh and the loss of the Lachin road. Now the situation is different, and based on this reality, today’s authorities are making such agreements. It will only be possible to talk about the ‘Trump route’ when there is a technical plan specifying what that road will entail — which countries will participate, which investors will be involved. It is not even clear yet where the road will pass geographically.”
In response to a question about whether he believes in the Crossroads of Peace project promoted by the authorities, Tonoyan remarked: “All these roads existed during the Soviet Union, or functioned partially.”
Asked if he believes a “peace era” could start under the current government, the former minister replied: “I have no issue of believing or not believing. Given what happened to me… I have no reason to believe anyone in this government.”
On August 8, during a trilateral meeting at the White House between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a joint declaration was signed summarizing the meeting’s results.
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, in the presence of the leaders, initialed the “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan.”
