NKR President's Spokesman: The sooner Azerbaijan realizes impossibility of a throwback, the sooner it will become possible to settle the conflict

The information disseminated by Azerbaijani media is mostly false, NKR President's Spokesman David Babayan has told ArmInfo, when commenting on the White House's response to the Azerbaijani petition that demands "withdrawal of Armenian troops" and "emphasizes the dramatic situation of hundreds of thousands of citizens threatened by a humanitarian catastrophe because of the neglected Sarsang dam".  

Babayan admits that the White House's reply to the petition stresses the need to settle the problem of borders in the process of the Karabakh conflict settlement. In this light, he notes that Azerbaijan's call for "withdrawal of Armenian troops" is out of date. "It is high time Baku understood that there is no throwback. The matter also concerns cession of territories. Such statements cause our regret. The sooner Azerbaijan understands and realizes that there is no throwback, the sooner it will become possible to settle the conflict," he says.        

As regards the need to hold a meeting of technical experts of the sides to discuss issues related to management and maintenance of the Sarsang Reservoir, Babayan stresses that Nagorno-Karabakh has shown a good will and has repeatedly expressed such initiatives.    

"We met Azerbaijan halfway. But I want to note that we are not going to transfer the management of the reservoir to Azerbaijan. We do not demand that Baku should transfer the management of its oil wells to us, because they were developed by Armenians in the early XX century. I suppose this is one more attempt to speculate on this issue," he says.  

In response to Baku's petition, the White House stated that as a co- chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States is strongly committed to a peaceful and lasting settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  "We have read Resolution 2085 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and, although the United States is not a member of PACE, we welcome opportunities to exchange views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process with any interested interlocutor," the White House said in a statement on June 11.  According to the statement, "the Obama Administration urges the sides to demonstrate restraint and enter into an immediate negotiation on a comprehensive settlement, which would include the return of the territories surrounding Nagorno- Karabakh to Azerbaijan's control and a determination of Nagorno-Karabakh's status," it said.
"As part of our ongoing dialogue with the sides, we have and will continue to facilitate discussions related to humanitarian issues.  Management and maintenance of the Sarsang Reservoir is one such issue. We welcome a meeting between technical experts from the sides to discuss water management and dam inspections. The co- chairs are ready to facilitate such a meeting," the statement said.