It is important for Stepanakert to understand that there is a clear position on the issue of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Artsakh’s Foreign Minister David Babayan stated after the meeting with Alen Simonyan, Armenia’s Parliament Speaker, presenting the details of the closed discussion that lasted one and a half hours. Today the National Assembly hosted the delegation led by Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan, which has been in Yerevan for several days. According to Babayan, the meeting with the Speaker of the Parliament took place in an honest atmosphere; they discussed the most complex issues. The Secretary of the Security Council also received them yesterday.
David Babayan (Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh) - In our meetings, these two meetings, of course, there are clarifications that no one is going to leave Artsakh or recognize it as part of Azerbaijan, now we have to conduct a flexible policy.
YEREVAN WILL NOT LEAVE STEPANAKERT ALONE: SIMONIAN
Artsakh cannot be a part of Azerbaijan, David Babayan emphasizes, and Alen Simonyan emphasizes again that Yerevan will not leave Stepanakert alone. The head of the legislature believes that Artsakh's colleagues are satisfied with the results of the discussion, he says that he presented them with the details of his visit to the Russian Federation a few days ago, as well as his contacts with international partners.
Regarding the discussions about Stepanakert-Baku direct contacts and Armenia's role in the negotiations, Alen Simonyan says: “We offer to Artsakh what we have always offered. Artsakh should be and is involved in all discussions on its own. And at the same time, Armenia should be maximally involved in all conversations, because, I assure you, there was an opportunity, I will not call it an opportunity, I should say an option, where there was an option to completely separate Armenia and Artsakh, we did not go for that option.”
Restoring the negotiation format is on the agenda of the Artsakh authorities, Babayan assures, saying, however, it should take place on an internationally recognized platform, in the format of the Minsk Group. The authorities of Artsakh are not against the improvement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, but insist that in the peace treaty, whether written or verbal, it should be clearly stated that recognizing each other's territorial integrity does not apply to Artsakh.
David Babayan - One can recognize the other, but there must be something that it does not apply to Artsakh, will the point be specifically mentioned or will there be another place for us to discuss this issue specifically, because there are such proposals from different countries, therefore, we need to fix it.
However, according to Alen Simonyan, this approach can complicate the situation even more, he said that he is not in favor of such formulations.
Alen Simonyan - I don't think that there should be such a reference in the possible peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, because, first of all, it can create a mirror demand and desire. And secondly, Armenia did not have a territorial claim to Azerbaijan, and the emphasis on territories will complicate and perhaps nullify the possible treaty to be signed, and it is my personal opinion that such a thing should not be done.
NEGOTIATION PROCESS CONTINUES: PARLIAMENT SPEAKER
The negotiation process continues, there is no document yet, but according to Simonyan, the signing of the peace treaty must be preceded by the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the sovereign territory of Armenia and the return of all prisoners of war to the Homeland. He mentioned again that in the current situation they expect the active participation of Russia as a strategic ally, he said that he raised this topic at the recent meetings in Moscow.
Alen Simonyan - There are also various rumors about what formats Russia offers. It can be said that we have given our consent to all those formats, it is Azerbaijan, for example, that has not signed the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh, let's not forget that. In that case, what is the reaction of our Russian partners? Besides, they said there that I criticized the CSTO. I say yes, we expect more drastic actions from CSTO. We are afraid that the CSTO may leave the region. Is my fear correct or not? This is our question.
The result of the questioning is what is publicly known, said Simonyan. And in general, Armenia will use all possible resources to guarantee security. Speaking about the latest border escalation, he stressed that the Armenian army is straightening its back today, and because of this, on September 13, Azerbaijan did not achieve its goal and had more victims.
According to Simonyan, Baku has 431 victims. The Speaker of the Parliament assured that now there is an unprecedented international pressure on Azerbaijan, and the direct assessment will have clear political consequences.
