Serzh Sargsyan: International community's position is that there is no alternative to peoples' right to self- determination

 The keys to the Karabakh conflict settlement are not in Paris, Moscow or Washington, but in Baku, Stepanakert and Yerevan, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on March 17, at the Opening Meeting of the Fourth Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.

The press office of the Armenian President quotes Serzh Sargsyan as saying, "We are not going to transform this platform into a propaganda tool or conduit to sow interethnic hostility, as it has been the case in Azerbaijan. We will try to take best advantage of the opportunities provided by this Assembly for the benefit of peaceful coexistence and cooperation of our nations. The best testimony to what I just stated was active participation of the Armenian delegations in a wide range of events that took place in Azerbaijan, including the Ordinary Session that took place in Baku back in 2012.

I regret that Azerbaijani side evades meeting us halfway by responding to our steps towards constructive dialogue.  It is though more disturbing that our neighboring State demonstrates unconstructive and maximalist stance in the very process of the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict by backtracking on the already agreed points, by consistently trying to change the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship or to launch negotiations on the great treaty without registering agreement on the basic principles. It should be obvious that the keys to the settlement of this issue are not located in Paris, Moscow or Washington, but in Baku, Stepanakert and Yerevan.  Meanwhile, Azerbaijan invents far-fetched excuses in order to avoid the settlement based on the principles proposed by the Co-Chairs.

I think such tactics of that country deserves unequivocal assessment of the international community and European institutions.

Regardless of Azerbaijan's unrealistic claims and periodic provocations carried out on the Line-of- Contact there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. It has been the position of international community, especially in the recent years, that there is no alternative to the comprehensive settlement of this conflict but by the exercise of the people's right to free expression of their will and self-determination, which is grounded in the European and universal values. This conflict can be comprehensively settled through the free exercise of this right by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. That is the approach upon which the proposal of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs is built."