David Babayan: Measures to create confidence-building mechanisms and atmosphere promoting peace talks launched

Spokesperson for the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (NKR) President David Babayan welcomes the agreement to introduce confidence-building mechanisms and create atmosphere promoting the peace process following the St. Petersburg Summit. 

Talking to ArmInfo, David Babayan said the process of introducing confidence-building mechanisms and creating an atmosphere promoting peace talks has been launched.  He said the St. Petersburg meeting reaffirmed that there is no alternative to the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict. "Although the arrangements made are of technical nature so far, we think that this will become a beginning of the peace process," Babayan said. 

At the same time, he believes that the process will be long, as Azerbaijan will display a destructive approach again. "At a certain stage of implementing the arrangements made, Azerbaijan will try to create obstacles to the full introduction of the investigation mechanisms," Babayan said. He blamed Azerbaijan for his slick policy of welcoming peace initiatives in public and creating obstacles to their implementation in secret. "However, I think it will be harder for Azerbaijan to keep his mask of a pacifist at the same time deceiving the world community," Babayan said. 

Presidents of  Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia met in Saint Petersburg on June 20 2016 at the behest of Vladimir Putin.  Reaching a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was the subject of discussion at the meeting, which took place behind closed doors, according to the Kremlin press-office.  

Following the consultations, the presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan adopted a joint statement reaffirming their commitment to normalizing the situation on the line of contact and giving their approval to an increase in the number of OSCE observers working in the conflict zone. The joint statement also expresses the parties' commitment to putting in place the conditions required for steady progress in negotiations on a political settlement to the conflict.

The presidents made a point of their regular contacts on Karabakh and agree to continue them in such format as addition to the efforts by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs who were invited to the final stage of the meeting in St.  Petersburg.