"Rejection of Washington agreements would harm Armenia itself - Ilham Aliyev"

Armenia will face serious consequences if it rejects the Washington agreements with Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview with the Al Arabiya TV channel.

When asked "if any internal political changes happen in Armenia, could they harm the peace process," Aliyev replied that he "can only guess and hope that nothing will hinder the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia."

"We know that parliamentary elections will be held there next summer. And we know that they are working on a new constitution draft. But if there is strong external interference, then yes, we can think that this could disrupt previously agreed issues. But this would seriously harm Armenia itself. Because, regardless of who signed the documents in Washington, they were signed on behalf of Armenia by the leader of Armenia. If something happens there, something changes, and they backtrack on what was signed, it will seriously worsen relations between Armenia and the United States. Not only the United States, but the entire international community supported this process, including the European Union, Turkey, and our friends in the Arab countries. In a word, the entire international community," said the President of Azerbaijan.

According to him, "Azerbaijan is positive in this regard."

He noted that violating the agreement initialed in Washington by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia "would mean going against the entire world. And what would they gain from that? What was signed in Washington is a guarantee of peace and stable development for Armenia... If any future government of Armenia, regardless of when it comes to power, questions what was signed in Washington, then Armenia will face serious consequences, since the balance of power in the region is absolutely in our favor in every way. I think this is obvious to everyone, and if Armenia again questions our territorial integrity, we will respond adequately," Aliyev continued.

Speaking about the significance of the document signed in Washington, the President of Azerbaijan noted that "both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and will plan their future interaction on the basis of this fundamental principle of international law." "Therefore, if Armenia ceases to recognize our territorial integrity, we will do the same with their territorial integrity. And who will win and who will lose in that case? I think that's a rhetorical question. I believe that any future government of Armenia will show enough wisdom and use a reasonable approach not to question our agreements reached in Washington. And again: this is an agreement between two states. This is not an agreement between me and Pashinyan," Aliyev emphasized.