02:36Mandatory credit: Press Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the country should not allow a war to break out over territorial disputes with Baku - although did warn that it could happen 'at the end of the week' if talks failed - while speaking at a meeting with residents of Voskepar village bordering Azerbaijan on Monday.
"I told you that we are engaged in talks. We say to them [Azerbaijan]: 'Give back our lands', they say to us: 'You give back our lands'. <...> We must not allow war to start. We must not allow it to break out," he noted, after being asked by locals if they were 'giving up our land to prevent war'.
He added that there was a difference between 'the state border and the line of contact'.
"Our goal, I want to say this one more time, our goal is the following: to have a border that is protected by international 'de jure' and a fence where an exchange of fire will be out of the question. We will build roads, we will provide the village with everything, if additional compensation is required - we will pay," he outlined.
"But I would like to describe an opposite scenario. We can back out of negotiations, we can leave and say: 'No, this is a no, this we won't do, and this is a no'. This means a war will break out at the end of the week," he warned.
According to media reports quoting Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, on March 9, Baku demanded that Yerevan vacate eight 'occupied' border villages and four exclave villages in Tavush province.
Baku retook the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - governed by ethnic Armenians - in September and the sides have been working towards a formal peace agreement.
Armenian PM Pashinyan warns of war 'at the end of the week' if talks fail over Azerbaijan border dispute
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the country should not allow a war to break out over territorial disputes with Baku - although did warn that it could happen 'at the end of the week' if talks failed - while speaking at a meeting with residents of Voskepar village bordering Azerbaijan on Monday.
"I told you that we are engaged in talks. We say to them [Azerbaijan]: 'Give back our lands', they say to us: 'You give back our lands'. <...> We must not allow war to start. We must not allow it to break out," he noted, after being asked by locals if they were 'giving up our land to prevent war'.
He added that there was a difference between 'the state border and the line of contact'.
"Our goal, I want to say this one more time, our goal is the following: to have a border that is protected by international 'de jure' and a fence where an exchange of fire will be out of the question. We will build roads, we will provide the village with everything, if additional compensation is required - we will pay," he outlined.
"But I would like to describe an opposite scenario. We can back out of negotiations, we can leave and say: 'No, this is a no, this we won't do, and this is a no'. This means a war will break out at the end of the week," he warned.
According to media reports quoting Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, on March 9, Baku demanded that Yerevan vacate eight 'occupied' border villages and four exclave villages in Tavush province.
Baku retook the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - governed by ethnic Armenians - in September and the sides have been working towards a formal peace agreement.
Mandatory credit: Press Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the country should not allow a war to break out over territorial disputes with Baku - although did warn that it could happen 'at the end of the week' if talks failed - while speaking at a meeting with residents of Voskepar village bordering Azerbaijan on Monday.
"I told you that we are engaged in talks. We say to them [Azerbaijan]: 'Give back our lands', they say to us: 'You give back our lands'. <...> We must not allow war to start. We must not allow it to break out," he noted, after being asked by locals if they were 'giving up our land to prevent war'.
He added that there was a difference between 'the state border and the line of contact'.
"Our goal, I want to say this one more time, our goal is the following: to have a border that is protected by international 'de jure' and a fence where an exchange of fire will be out of the question. We will build roads, we will provide the village with everything, if additional compensation is required - we will pay," he outlined.
"But I would like to describe an opposite scenario. We can back out of negotiations, we can leave and say: 'No, this is a no, this we won't do, and this is a no'. This means a war will break out at the end of the week," he warned.
According to media reports quoting Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, on March 9, Baku demanded that Yerevan vacate eight 'occupied' border villages and four exclave villages in Tavush province.
Baku retook the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - governed by ethnic Armenians - in September and the sides have been working towards a formal peace agreement.