Monday, July 17 2017 14:21

ArmInfo.The position of Armenia on the key issues of Nagorno- Karabakh settlement after the "four-day April war" has not changed. This was stated in the  interview to the "R-evolution" program by Armenian President Serzh  Sargsyan.  "There is no new approach. I am sure that Azerbaijan's  position has not changed.

April war demonstrated that the Azerbaijani side refuses Madrid version of the conflict settlement. I do not intend to change the positions in the settlement of the issue,  at least from the Armenian side. As for concessions, at least for the  p0revious 20 years we, somewhere, somehow did not talk about  concessions. We have always said, and now we continue to talk about  resolving the conflict through mutual concessions. These are  different things. I am convinced that even if this conflict has not  been resolved for another 20 years, Armenian side will never have a  desire to make concessions to changesituation. This is a ruinous path  that cannot solve the problem, "Sargsyan said.

At the same time, he noted that he does not see any changes in his  positions, since the desire and goal of Armenian side are obvious -  the realization of the right of people of Nagorno-Karabakh recognized  by the international community to self-determination, the existence   of a land border with Armenia, and reliable guarantees for the  security of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. "Here are three principled  positions that we have been talking about for 20 years. The position  of Azerbaijan is also understandable and lies in the fact that  Nagorno-Karabakh problem is an internal matter of the country, that  Karabakh was part of Azerbaijan and must remain so. That is, whatever  approaches sounded during the talks, the Armenian side seeks its  goal,  Azerbaijani side seeks to achieve its goal. That's the whole  problem. As the saying goes, the bear knows seven songs and they are  all about honey, "the Armenian leader said. At the same time he added  that Yerevan constantly proposes different ways and options for the  negotiations at the talks, but the main principles do not change from  this.

Referring to  the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the  negotiation process, Sargsyan noted that Azerbaijan rejects this  proposal. "But in all options, well, at least to which I know,  Nagorno-Karabakh directly participates in the formation of the final  document, that is, after obtaining the principle consent on Madrid  principle, then Nagorno-Karabakh joins the talks. That is, joining of  Karabakh to the fundamental documents is compulsory, "the Armenian  leader said.

Commenting on his own words that the Armenian side is fighting in  Karabakh with weapons of the 80s, the head of state stressed that  weapons are periodically being  updated, both before and after the  April events.  "Any military action is a lesson that you need to  learn and draw conclusions, then you can find out what and how your  adversary  is using, and try to find an antidote to it. :Yes, then we  did not have some types of weapons, which Azerbaijan managed to  purchase. But is it a secret that Azerbaijan is richer than us and  spends more money on arms purchases? It's not a secret. If someone  says that Armenia will be able to become richer in two or three years  than Azerbaijan, such a person will have to be driven out of  politics, as this is charlatanry, a lie. This requires a lot of time  " the head of state said. At the same time, Sargsyan stressed that  Armenian side has sufficient armament to neutralize the threat  threatening Armenia and Karabakh with the use of combat-ready armed  forces. "The war is won not only by weapons, the main characters -  soldiers, officers, commanders. They should have not the most modern,  but sufficient weapons to solve the problem. Today we have it, "the  Armenian leader said.