YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in an interview with several British media outlets, addressed the issue of the leverage some countries can have on Azerbaijan in the context of achieving peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The PM stressed that the primary beneficiaries of peace are Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The journalist gave the example of "British Petroleum", which supplied $35 billion worth of oil and gas from Azerbaijan in the last four years, asking whether the Armenian government would like the United Kingdom to use that leverage.

"First, I would not like to comment on business activities, investments that take place in neighboring countries. In general, I believe that any investment should be aimed at promoting peace within the investment environment and the region, thereby contributing to overall stability.

In general, I believe that the establishment of peace is in the interests of both the international community and investors. However, I want to emphasize that the primary beneficiaries of peace are Armenia and Azerbaijan. It is particularly significant that we have reached two major agreements with Azerbaijan in the last 5 months,’’ Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister added that a number of statements coming from Azerbaijan concerning the reforms and modernization of the Armenian army worry the Armenian authorities.

“If we look at the ratio of the military budgets of Azerbaijan and Armenia, there is a significant imbalance, and yes, this ratio is also influenced by the revenues of Azerbaijan through the transactions you have mentioned.

 But what worries us is that even in the face of this imbalance, Azerbaijan reacts very aggressively to the reforms of the armed forces of Armenia and the acquisition of weapons and equipment, although we all understand that these achievements have exclusively defensive significance," explained Pashinyan.

“We have proposed to Azerbaijan to establish a bilateral mechanism for mutual arms control. In other words, to enable us to regulate our weaponry within the boundaries of these mutual agreements and avoid inciting an arms race in our region," said Pashinyan.

The Prime Minister noted that the Armenian government  has proposed a mirror-like withdrawal of troops based on the 1991 border line.

“We are discussing military budgets, but certainly, a stable and long-term peace would provide us all with the opportunity to allocate those funds, at the very least, not in such vast amounts, and to invest the remaining funds in addressing the socio-economic problems of our countries.

 This year, Armenia has made significant progress in terms of gross domestic product per capita, but there are still many social problems in our country, as well as in Azerbaijan. When there is peace,  the governments of both countries  will have an opportunity to invest in socio-economic development. Additionally, it will enable us to contemplate regional economic development in the future,” said Pashinyan.

Pashinyan said that amid regional economic developments, Armenia has adopted the "Crossroads of Peace" project.

 "We are not preparing for war; we are preparing for peace. However, until we are convinced that the Republic of Armenia will not be attacked, we naturally have to develop our defense capabilities.

 Moreover, I have stated that aside from the 29,743 sq. km territory, the Republic of Armenia has no ambitions in any direction: neither to the south, nor to the west, nor to the north, nor to the east. We believe that we should build and develop our sovereignty and independence on this foundation,’’ said the Armenian Prime Minister.