BAKU. April 14 (Interfax) - Armenia has no option but to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani Parliament Chairperson Sahiba Gafarova said.
"It was Azerbaijan that proposed that Armenia sign a peace [treaty] on the basis of the universally accepted five principles of international law. Alas, the process is not evolving the way one would like it to," Gafarova told the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Having boycotted the Moscow meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia last December, Yerevan removed itself from the peace talks and continues to hinder direct talks on a peace treaty, she said.
"It is still not clear what Armenia is hoping for, or what it is playing for time for. One thing is clear: signing a peace treaty is the only way to [achieve] peace, stability and prosperity in our region. There are simply no alternatives to this," Gafarova said.
Earlier this week, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said Yerevan was ready to resume talks with Baku, adding that various partners had been offering to organize a meeting.
"A meeting with the Azerbaijani side [in Moscow at the end of 2022] was postponed due to the situation around the Lachin corridor. We are prepared to resume meetings and discussions now. But it is important to point out that, even with the meeting postponed, the negotiation process with Azerbaijan has not been interrupted. We have exchanged versions of a peace agreement several times," Mirzoyan said at a government Q&A session in parliament on April 12.