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Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict

Yerevan ready to withdraw lawsuits against Baku following peace agreement

The Armenian prime minister specified that it is not only necessary to "abandon the resolution of disputes in international courts, but the disputes themselves"

YEREVAN, December 19. /TASS/. Armenia is ready to recall its lawsuits against Azerbaijan in international courts after a peace agreement is signed, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Armenpress.

"Regarding the withdrawal of lawsuits filed against each other, when a peace treaty is signed <…>, there are two nuances here: one of them is that there must be an understandable prospect for bilaterally resolving the individual humanitarian issues currently under discussion in international courts, and secondly, it must be clear that after withdrawing the disputes in international platforms regarding other issues the sides shall not put forward the same issues in the bilateral relations agenda and make them a source of lasting escalations," Pashinyan said.

The Armenian prime minister specified that it is not only necessary to "abandon the resolution of disputes in international courts, but the disputes themselves." "At this phase we are searching for solutions also in terms of individual humanitarian matters," the news agency quoted him as saying.

Armenia initiated legal proceedings with Azerbaijan at the UN International Court of Justice on September 16, 2021 under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The lawsuit accuses Azerbaijan of decades-long racial discrimination that came to the fore during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of September 2020. Azerbaijan filed a counterclaim on September 23 of the same year, alleging that Armenia had committed a number of discriminatory acts against Azerbaijanis on the basis of their national and ethnic origin and continues to do so.

Both sides had previously requested interim measures, which are set by the court to avoid escalation of tensions between the parties while the proceedings are ongoing. These requests were partially satisfied.

Following this, both parties questioned the court’s jurisdiction and the consideration of lawsuits was effectively suspended.

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Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict

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