On April 14, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, participated in the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS member states held in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which was held in a narrow and then in an expanded format.
During the session, the CIS participating states discussed several issues related to the agenda of the meeting, especially cooperation in the humanitarian and cultural fields within the organization’s framework, and exchanged ideas on regional matters. During the session, several documents were adopted, including the decisions on declaring the city of Gyumri the “Sports Capital of the Cooperation” in 2024 and the town of Kapan the “Youth Capital of the CIS” in 2026.
In the speech of the Armenian side, it was noted that the meeting is being held on the 30th anniversary year of the signing of the CIS Charter. It is an excellent opportunity to reaffirm the loyalty of the CIS member states to the fundamental provisions of that key document, in particular to the provision of human rights and fundamental freedoms by the norms and principles of international law, state the inseparability of borders, the recognition of existing walls and the rejection of illegal territorial aspirations, as well as “the determination to implement the provisions of the agreement on the establishment of the CIS, the protocol attached to that agreement, as well as the Alma-Ata Declaration.”
It was emphasized that only with joint constructive efforts it will be possible to achieve precise and tangible results for increasing the effectiveness of CIS activities.
In the context of the security situation in the South Caucasus, the Armenian side has emphasized that the efforts of the Armenian side aimed at stabilizing the situation and establishing a long-term peace are facing the non-stop aggressive rhetoric of the official Baku and continuous military aggressions, one of the common manifestations of which was carried out on April 11 in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, in the part of the village of Tegh in the Syunik region. Provocation. It was emphasized that Azerbaijan’s actions contradict the statements made due to the Prague and Sochi meetings.
In the context of Azerbaijan’s four-month-long illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, it was emphasized that Armenia expects active steps from all parties involved in the direction of the steady implementation of the undertaken obligations, as well as the February 22 decision of the International Court of Justice, the restoration of movement through the Lachin Corridor, strictly following 2020 to the provisions of the tripartite statement of November 9.
Referring to the violations of the other provisions of the tripartite declaration, it was pointed out that, contrary to the international community and numerous calls from reputable human rights organizations, Azerbaijan continues to illegally hold Armenian prisoners of war and civilians hostage, conducting mock trials and subjecting them to inhumane treatment.
Summarizing, it was noted that despite all difficulties, the Armenian side is committed to existing commitments and is ready to make all efforts to achieve peace and stability in our region.
