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Akbar Novruz

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Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has rejected suggestions that Azerbaijan's expectation of an apology for the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis should become an additional condition for signing the peace agreement between Baku and Yerevan.

Speaking during a parliamentary session, Mirzoyan responded to recent remarks by Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev, who said that Azerbaijanis, particularly those forcibly displaced from their homes, expected an apology from Armenia as part of the broader reconciliation process.

Mirzoyan argued that such statements did not contribute to peace efforts, while maintaining that Armenia remained committed to normalising relations with Azerbaijan.

His remarks came in response to a question from opposition Strong Armenia lawmaker Tigran Abrahamyan, who criticised the Armenian authorities for failing to respond publicly to Hajiyev's statement.

Abrahamyan questioned whether such rhetoric was compatible with the ongoing peace process and expressed concern that an apology could become another condition for the signing of the peace agreement initialled in Washington in August 2025.

Mirzoyan dismissed criticism of the government's approach, arguing that Armenia was working to consolidate peace despite the difficulties and obstacles surrounding the process.

"The wheel always likes to follow its own groove. Even when great efforts are made to move it away from that groove, it’s easy, thump, the wheel just ends up falling back into its favourite groove", Mirzoyan said.

The Armenian foreign minister acknowledged that he could offer a "bombastic and patriotic" response to Hajiyev's remarks but warned that returning to confrontational rhetoric would undermine efforts to normalise relations.

Addressing concerns that an apology could become an additional requirement for concluding the peace process, Mirzoyan said: "I don’t think there can be another precondition".

He did not elaborate further on the issue.

Instead, Mirzoyan stressed that the consequences of the conflict continued to affect both societies and that reconciliation remained essential to establishing lasting peace.

"We need to end this conflict and enter a phase of peace and cooperation. We will benefit from that, and they will benefit from that", he concluded.

Baku stresses importance of acknowledging displacement of Azerbaijanis

Mirzoyan's comments followed statements by Hikmet Hajiyev during a special session titled "The Language of Peace and Combating Disinformation", held as part of the Baku Culture and Media Dialogue Platform on Monday.

Hajiyev said that although Azerbaijan and Armenia had agreed on a peace agenda, certain statements and political tendencies in Armenia continued to raise concerns in Baku.

"We are still concerned about manifestations of revanchism in Armenian society. At the same time, we see that Armenia’s current leadership is promoting the concept of 'Real Armenia'. We take this into account and believe that Armenia should exist within its internationally recognised borders, rather than on the basis of certain historical interpretations that do not correspond to reality", Hajiyev stated.

The presidential aide also emphasised the importance of recognising the experiences of Azerbaijanis who were displaced during the conflict.

"Initial agreements on peace have already been reached. However, I am certain that every Azerbaijani, especially those who were expelled from their homes, spent 30 years as refugees or internally displaced persons, and were subjected to ethnic cleansing, expects an apology from Armenia", Hajiyev said.

"Undoubtedly, this should be part of the broader process of building trust and establishing peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

Hajiyev's remarks framed an apology as an element of historical acknowledgment and confidence-building between the two societies.

Peace agreement remains unsigned

Azerbaijan and Armenia initialled the text of their peace agreement in Washington in August 2025, marking a significant step towards the formal normalisation of bilateral relations.

However, the document has yet to be formally signed.

Baku has maintained that Armenia must address constitutional provisions it considers to contain territorial claims against Azerbaijan before the agreement can be concluded.

Yerevan, meanwhile, has expressed opposition to the introduction of additional conditions into the process.