Under Pressure, Pashinyan Confirms Another ‘Secret’ Accord with Baku | Asbarez.com

Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday was forced to confirm yet another deal with Azerbaijan that was being kept under wraps until an opposition news site published the contents of the leaked document.

This latest document that was initiated by Russia outlines the process of delineation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, a point being pressed by Moscow as part of its agenda that has seen the surrender of positions of Artsakh to Azerbaijan, as well as created a strong hold for Russia, via its peacekeeping forces, in Karabakh and the Caucasus.

During a cabinet meeting on Thursday Pashinyan admitted the existence of the document, the details of which were published in Armlur.am after opposition activist and Armenia’s former Ambassador to the Vatican, Mikael Minasyan teased the document in a Facebook post that contained an image of the document, with its details redacted. Minasyan, who is former president Serzh Sarkisian’s son-in-law and is currently in hiding because he is facing criminal charges in Armenia, said that the document will have severe consequences for Armenia.

This revelation prompted the opposition parties represented in parliament to call an emergency session of the National Assembly to discuss the revelations and to mandate that parliament must have the final say in an agreement being signed.

“Once again a document has been drafted behind the Armenian people’s back, and neither parliament members nor, I think, most government members know anything about its content,” Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the parliamentary opposition Bright Armenia Party, told reporters before the emergency legislative session.

The document in questions mandates the creation of a commission by May 31 to look into the demarcation process and present its findings and course of action by June 30. It does not contain specifics about the actual border demarcation.

During the emergency parliament session, Pashinyan told lawmakers about the existence of the document saying, “I want to assure you that there is and there can be no secret appendices to it.” He confirmed that Armenia will agreed to the formation of commission on if Baku withdrawal its forces from Armenia, whose borders have been breached by Azerbaijani forces who last week advanced into the sovereign territory of Armenia.
Pashinyan confirmed that Yerevan will agree to the creation of the demarcation commission only if Baku withdraws its forces from the Armenian side of the border. “Our position remains that Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenian territory without preconditions,” he said...