Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian says a fresh war with Azerbaijan remains a high probability in the absence of a peace treaty between the two countries.
"So long as a peace treaty has not been signed and such a treaty has not been ratified by the parliaments of the two countries, of course, a [new] war [with Azerbaijan] is very likely," Pashinian said in an interview with AFP published on July 21.
Baku and Yerevan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-populated mountainous enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The most recent war lasted six weeks in late 2020 and left 7,000 soldiers dead on both sides.
As a result of the war, Azerbaijan regained control over a part of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The war ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to serve as peacekeepers.
Armenia and Azerbaijan in recent weeks have engaged in rounds of diplomacy aimed at reaching a lasting peace deal but there have been sporadic border clashes, and the talks have not yet yielded a breakthrough.
SEE ALSO: Deaths, Mass Protests As Nagorno-Karabakh Blockade TightensTensions have remained high over the situation on the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan earlier this month suspended traffic through a checkpoint on the corridor pending an investigation after it said "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
The suspension of traffic heightened concerns over a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh. Both Armenia and separatist authorities in the enclave have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded the territory since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.
Pashinian sharply criticized the blockade in the interview with AFP, saying it amounted to "an ongoing process of genocide" for ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, meanwhile, said Azerbaijan is making serious efforts to remove land mines, more than 1 million of which are buried in the territories of Azerbaijan, while also criticizing a map provided by Armenia that covers approximately 400,000 mines.
Speaking on July 21 at the Shusha Global Media Forum, Aliyev also said that after the end of the war, land mines killed or seriously injured more than 300 people. He said that Armenia's "nonpresentation" of the maps showing where the land mines are "is a continuation of Armenia's terror against us."
Armenia has not responded to Aliyev's comments.
SEE ALSO: Amid Tension Over Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan Wages A Media War On FranceArmenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said in a separate interview published on July 21 that Armenia and Azerbaijan cannot resolve their relations without taking into account the security factor and the rights of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Mirzoyan stressed in an interview with the Austrian daily DerStandard that the main issue for Armenia is the security of people and their fundamental rights.
The humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is difficult and close to a humanitarian catastrophe, he said.
"We need immediate humanitarian intervention to save 120,000 people from starvation. Then we will be able to continue negotiations with everyone who is interested in establishing a lasting peace in the region," Mirzoyan said.
"It's important to avoid another dangerous cycle of hostility,” he said. “Enough blood has already been shed in the South Caucasus. Mutual recognition of territorial integrity will be of key importance."
As for the issue of security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, he said Armenia believes that the best mechanism would be a dialogue with international participation.