Wednesday, April 22 2020 13:22

ArmInfo. The newly elected President of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, responded to the statement circulated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs following the talks  between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Harutyunyan, on his Facebook page, in particular, wrote: "I want to  note that no process to resolve the Karabakh issue can be effective  without the full participation of official Stepanakert. We are also  interested in resolving the conflict and are aware that this process  will affect the establishment of stability and peace in the region.  However, we hope that the Azerbaijani side is also aware of this. We  greatly appreciate the role of the Armenian authorities in the  negotiation process, but the citizens of Artsakh gave the main  mandate to negotiate on any document to the NKR authorities>,  Harutyunyan emphasized.

He noted with regret that the Azerbaijani authorities continued to  avoid direct contacts with one of the parties to the conflict (with  Artsakh - ed. note). All this, along with periodic provocations at  the forefront, significantly reduces the level of confidence in Baku.

The newly elected president of NKR, emphasized: "The authorities of  Artsakh should become a full-fledged party in the negotiation process  to resolve the Karabakh conflict. In no case should the security of  the people of Artsakh be jeopardized; it cannot be traded. Without  recognition of the right of the people of Artsakh to  self-determination, any option for resolving the conflict cannot be  the subject of discussion between the parties. Through clear  guarantees, it is necessary to exclude attempts to use force or its  threat in the settlement process, since the Armenian and Azerbaijani  people deserve peace. Otherwise, the Republic of Artsakh is ready to  give a disproportionate response to the aggression of Azerbaijan by  transferring hostilities to its territory. In any case, unilateral  and disproportionate concessions on the part of Artsakh are  excluded>. Harutyunyan also said that the international community  (primarily the OSCE and the co-chairs) should rule out violations and  restrictions on the human rights of the people of Artsakh in  connection with the conflict and the international status of   Azerbaijan.  "The authorities of Artsakh, as before, are now ready  to make every effort to strengthen peace and trust between the  parties," Harutyunyan concluded.

It should be noted that yesterday between the Foreign Ministers of  Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov,  negotiations were held in the video broadcast format. After that, the  co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made a statement.

The statement emphasized that the parties indicated the importance of  adhering to the ceasefire and refusing any provocations in conditions  of the current global crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also spoke yesterday. In  particular, he noted that there is a document on the negotiating  table implying a phased settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.