Karen Mirzoyan: Real progress in Karabakh conflict settlement process  can only be reached if the NKR, as a full-fledged party, directly  participates in all its stages

ArmInfo.On December 28, the annual press conference of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan took place.

The press offi1ce of the NKR Foreign Ministry reports that Karen  Mirzoyan briefed on the activities of the Foreign Ministry during the  year and noted that in 2016, too, the priorities of the NKR foreign  policy agenda were the international recognition of the independence  of Artsakh and the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh  conflict.

The Foreign Minister noted that during the year, the most serious  challenges facing the Nagorno Karabakh Republic in general and the  Foreign Ministry in particular were the large-scale aggression  unleashed by Azerbaijan on April 2 and the elimination of its  consequences. In this context, the Foreign Ministry has taken  consistent steps to inform the international community about the  causes and consequences of the April aggression, to reach the  condemnation of the aggression, blatant violations of international  humanitarian law, and the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani  armed forces during that period. In particular, the NKR MFA  circulated relevant notes in different international organizations,  as well as contributed to the dissemination of the information  provided by other state agencies and institutions of the NKR. Thanks  to the work carried out with the mass media, the situation on the  ground caused by the aggression and the stance of Artsakh on the  settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict were presented to the  international audience.

Touching upon the process of the peaceful settlement of the  Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, Karen Mirzoyan noted that, first of  all, the efforts should be focused on ensuring stability and  predictability on the Line of Contact, as well as creating necessary  conditions for resuming the negotiations. Realization of the  agreements, reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg, will become a  serious step in this direction.

The NKR Foreign Minister reiterated that real progress in the process  of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement can only be reached  if the trilateral format of the negotiations is restored and the NKR,  as a full-fledged party, directly participates in all its stages.  Karen Mirzoyan also noted that against the background of the April  aggression it had become especially evident that any proposal, which  can pose even a minimal threat to the independence and security of  the country, is unacceptable for the NKR people and authorities.

Karen Mirzoyan also noted that the international recognition of  Artsakh is the dictate of time as an efficient means of preventing  another aggression by Azerbaijan. The Foreign Minister expressed  confidence that the international recognition of the NKR would also  positively impact the peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh  conflict, ensuring its irreversibility, and allow to focus on the  development of necessary mechanisms and conditions for the peaceful  coexistence of two independent and sovereign states.

Karen Mirzoyan assured that in 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  would continue to work consistently for the international recognition  of Artsakh and expansion of international cooperation on different  levels.