Thursday, March 23 2023 22:46

ArmInfo. full-fledged dialogue with Azerbaijan is possible only in an international format and with clear international guarantees. Artsakh Foreign Minister  Sergei Ghazaryan stated on March 23 during the video bridge:  "Artsakh. 100 days of blockade", when asked about the possibility of  holding negotiations between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

In this vein, he drew attention to the fact that after the 44-day  war, with the mediation of the command of the Russian peacekeeping  contingent (RPC), there were meetings with the Azerbaijani side  related to the solution of humanitarian and technical issues. "The  Azerbaijani side tried to distort the agenda of the latest meetings.  The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the issues of unblocking,  restoring gas and electricity supplies. The Azerbaijani side  presented the content in a distorted form, this is unacceptable. But  we are ready for meetings in the same format - with the participation  of the RPC,"  said the Foreign Minister of Artsakh.

At the same time, the minister stressed that direct negotiations with  Baku are possible only in an international format. "Given that  Azerbaijan violated even the agreements reached through the mediation  of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG) - countries such as  Russia, France, the United States, then won't it also violate the  agreements in bilateral format?" Ghazaryan asked. According to him,  proceeding from the abovementioned, dialogue with Baku is possible  only through international mediation and if there is a mechanism to  guarantee the implementation of agreements.

Speaking about the idea of organizing a visit of a fact-finding  mission to Artsakh, the head of the Foreign Ministry said that he  welcomes all the steps that will be aimed at presenting the facts  about the situation to the international community.

When asked to express his attitude to the proposals to deploy  international peacekeeping forces in Artsakh, Ghazaryan stated that a  lot of work needs to be done for this.

He pointed out the obviousness that the security component in Artsakh  is very important and the presence of peacekeeping forces is  indispensable. According to him, they are convinced of this every  day.

"The more perfect the mechanism, the better. However, the range of  issues will depend on how developed the mechanism will be. If instead  of the current number of Russian peacekeepers, there will be 5 or 10  times more Russian peacekeepers, or if the forces are technically  better equipped, it would be better. We do not exclude the format  with the participation of other countries and organizations as well.  The issue of international forces has always been considered within  the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. But this is not an easy issue  to resolve," the minister said.

Answering the question about France's role in de-escalating the  situation, Ghazaryan noted the vigorous activity in attempts to  achieve the unblocking of the Berdzor corridor. At the same time, he  pointed out the need to continue efforts, since the blockade has not  yet been eliminated. The minister also expressed his conviction that  the format of the OSCE Minsk Group, taking into account its  experience, must be restored.

In this vein, he also noted that at all meetings, and first of all  with representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, before and  now, the NKR authorities conveyed that the grounds for recognizing  the independence of Artsakh are stronger than those of Kosovo, for  example, or other countries. "No matter what anyone says, and no  matter what position they express, we proceed from the position  expressed by the people of Artsakh," the minister stressed.  In this  vein, he also noted that at all meetings, and first of all with  representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group countries, before and now,  the NKR authorities conveyed that the grounds for recognizing the  independence of Artsakh are stronger than those of Kosovo, for  example, or other countries. "No matter what anyone says, and no  matter what position they express, we proceed from the position  expressed by the people of Artsakh," the minister stressed.  .   "Apart from the fact that the main goal is to put pressure on Artsakh  and cause serious negative consequences for its economy, there is  another important goal to discredit RPC. As we understand, seeing  that now only the presence of RPC is one of the most important  guarantors of security, the Azerbaijani side went on a provocation.  In addition to the fact that peacekeepers must make every effort to  resolve the situation and so that provocations do not repeat,  numerous other factors must also be taken into account.  All these  issues are being discussed with representatives of the RPC," the  Artsakh Foreign Minister summed up.