Nalbandian suggested inviting Aliyev to celebrate the 2800th anniversary of Erebuni-Yerevan

ArmInfo. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian suggested inviting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to celebrate the 2800th anniversary of Erebuni- Yerevan.

So, on January 29, summing up the results of 2017, Nalbandian, referring to Aliev's periodic statements about Yerevan's belonging to Azerbaijan, said in particular: "As for the latest statements sounding from Baku, it's not new. This is not the first time we hear such statements from the same series like "Artsakh - historical Azeri territory." I think it would be superfluous to invite the President of Azerbaijan to celebrate the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan, let him get acquainted with the history of Yerevan on the spot. And in this context, he reminded that this year Armenia not only celebrates the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan, but also the 100th anniversary of the First Republic and May victories. The minister recalled that the father of the current president of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, ones visited the Sardarapat complex. Maybe one day the current president of Azerbaijan will also visit."

At the same time, referring to the negotiation process on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, Nalbandian once again recalled that Azerbaijan is constantly trying to abandon the agreements reached. He stressed the importance of implementing the agreements, and the lack of an alternative to negotiations.

Commenting on the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron on the need to make a bold compromise to achieve progress in the Karabakh settlement, Nalbandian recalled that the co-chairs have a unified approach, reflected in five statements, they also talk about compromises. At the same time, the minister stressed, the status can be resolved by the free expression of the will of Artsakh citizens and be of compulsory international importance.

Referring to the statement of the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the stage-by-stage settlement of the Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Minister stated, in particular: "As for the speculation of a phased or package settlement of the Karabakh conflict, 20 years ago such a statement of the issue for some reason could happen, however, today there is no reason for such an approach, as the countries co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group have stated on many occasions that the conflict must be resolved on the basis of those principles and elements that were developed as a single one and attempts to separate one from the other make the settlement of the problem impossible, but the package settlement - and we have repeatedly stated this - should have a phased implementation," Nalbandyan concluded.