Murad Muradov: Armenia shows interest in creating regional platforms

There is interest in Armenia in bringing regional countries closer together and establishing regional platforms, Deputy Director of the Topchubashov Center, Murad Muradov, who is in Yerevan to participate in the 108th Rose-Roth Seminar of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, told Report.

According to him, his impressions of the trip are positive, and so far, he has not encountered any negative situations:

"I am glad to take part in such an event for the first time. Armenian media showed great interest in my visit – I even had to give journalists extensive comments. So far, I have not felt any negative attitude toward myself."

Muradov drew attention to the change in the rhetoric of Armenian officials overall: "For example, Armenia"s Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, and Defense Minister Suren Papikyan stated that they are satisfied with the content of the Washington Agreement. According to them, the document reflects the principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and opens up new opportunities for the region. Armenian representatives highly value the role of the United States and, in particular, President Donald Trump."

He added that Armenia also expects US investments in road construction. "Other messages concerned adaptation to NATO standards and moving toward the creation of a professional army. This means they no longer intend to continue the conflict with Azerbaijan. On the contrary, they are interested in rapprochement between regional countries and in creating joint platforms. They highly appreciate such visits and welcome their organization at different levels," the deputy director emphasized.

In addition, Muradov said that he also faced provocative questions, which mainly concerned the issue of Western Azerbaijan, Armenians brought to justice in Baku for crimes committed, as well as accusations against Azerbaijan of allegedly posing threats to Armenia"s security and territorial integrity.

"I tried to explain that such approaches do not reflect reality. Overall, one can say that much work still lies ahead before the positions are fully reconciled," he concluded.