Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan explained why Armenia ultimately agreed to two previously disputed articles proposed by Azerbaijan in the peace agreement process. He made the statement in Parliament during the 2026 state budget discussions, responding to a question from opposition MP Artur Khachatryan.
Khachatryan had pointed out that prior to Armenia’s acceptance, Azerbaijan regularly fired toward Syunik, but the attacks stopped after the agreement on the articles.
Mirzoyan clarified that at a certain point in the peace talks, Armenia came to the conclusion that continued resistance on those two points could jeopardize the entire agreement, which had already been finalized in writing for the most part.
“We became convinced that efforts to refine those articles would be more effective and have greater chances of a positive outcome once peace is established. That’s why, in mid-March, we declared the text was finalized and that we were ready to begin consultations on the time and location for signing,” he stated, as reported by Armenpress.
In March 2025, Armenia and Azerbaijan announced the conclusion of peace treaty negotiations and agreement on the final text. Armenia had previously opposed two Azerbaijani-proposed articles: one rejecting third-party deployments along the border after signing, and another requiring withdrawal of mutual international court claims. Eventually, Armenia accepted both, and the document was initialed on August 8.
