ArmInfo.Armenia can not negotiate instead of Artsakh, we can only negotiate for ourselves, Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan stated in an interview with journalists on June 12.
Kocharyan stressed the fact that most of the issues discussed during the negotiations concern Artsakh. The Deputy Minister also said that Armenia can not negotiate instead of Nagorno Karabakh related at least 2 points, first, regarding the status of Artsakh, and secondly, regarding its territorial integrity.
Relating to the issue when Armenia can negotiate, the Deputy Minister said that in some cases it is necessary to negotiate in order to prevent military actions. Kocharyan noted that if there is no negotiation, the probability of resumption of hostilities increases. "Of course, Armenia should negotiate, but there are issues that concern Artsakh exclusively," Shavarsh Kocharyan stressed.
When asked who was ultimately guilty of the fact that Artsakh was withdrawn from the negotiation process, Kocharyan said: "Of course, there were mistakes during the regime of both the first and the second presidents. And the fact that the NKR does not participate in the negotiation process should not be considered exclusively in black and white. After all, when Nagorno-Karabakh participated in the negotiations, Azerbaijan introduced the Azerbaijani community into the negotiation process, so the Azerbaijani community sat down with the delegation of Azerbaijan, while the delegations of Armenia and Artsakh sat separately, "said the Deputy Foreign Minister.
However, he stressed, Armenia should strive for Nakorno Karabakh to participate in the negotiation process. "When Baku really aims to progress in the negotiations, it immediately starts to cooperate not with Yerevan, but with Stepanakert," Kocharyan said, citing as example the trilateral agreement on the cease-fire regime signed in 1994 between Yerevan, Stepanakert and Baku . "At this time, Azerbaijan began negotiations directly with Artsakh and only then, when the agreement was already ready, Baku suggested that Yerevan join, although we could act differently," the Deputy Minister stressed.
Kocharyan noted that the fact that there is no progress in the negotiations is the result of Azerbaijan's policy - either all or nothing. According to the Deputy Minister, progress will be achieved when Baku recognizes Artsakh as a full-fledged party to the talks.
"Obviously, the ball is over 20 years old on the field of Azerbaijan. The representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group do not have the authority to compel the parties to do this or that, their powers concern the rapprochement of the parties' positions, "the Deputy Minister summed up.