Wednesday, October 17 2018 11:02

ArmInfo.The position of Armenia on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is clearly emphasized in the government program. The Spokesperson of the  Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan said this in an interview  with ArmInfo correspondent when asked to comment on the statement by  the US Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia Richard Mills regarding  the "return of the occupied territories".

"The position and approaches of Armenia to resolve the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have been repeatedly stressed and clearly  stated in the government's program. Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab  Mnatsakanyan also spoke about this on October 15 in Luxembourg at a  meeting of foreign ministers of the EU Eastern Partnership  countries," Naghdalian stressed.  During his speech in Luxembourg,  Mnatsakanyan stressed the need to keep the focus on the formation and  stimulation of an environment conducive to peace, which includes a  number of elements: confidence building measures, including  implementation of previously reached agreements, measures to reduce  the risk of aggravation situations. "We must concentrate on these  issues and make real efforts to prepare the populations of all  parties for peace. Another important priority is to abandon military  rhetoric and hate propaganda. Nagorno-Karabakh status and security is  Armenia's priority. Karabakh is a party to the conflict, with a  decisive voice in settlement process, and should have more immediate  involvement ", the Armenian Foreign Minister noted.  To recall the  final diplomatic mission in Armenia, US Ambassador Richard Mills, in  an interview with EVN, speaking of the Karabakh settlement, made  remarkable statements. In particular, referring to ways to resolve  the conflict, he emphasized the need to return the "occupied  territories": "The settlement of the conflict is impossible without  the return of a certain part of the occupied territories. The issue  of the return of the occupied territories is one of the fundamental  points of the Madrid principles. When I arrived in Armenia, found  that most Armenians are categorically against the return of the  occupied territories. It seems to me that we are taking a step back.  My government for many years considered that these territories were  originally taken, to later be used as part of the formula of "land -  for peace," and I was very surprised when I discovered that this  formula does not find public support in Armenia ",  the diplomat  said.  He also stressed that the April war of 2016 consolidated this  position of the Armenians even more. "Now it will be much more  difficult to resolve this issue, but the harsh reality is that any  settlement requires the return of a certain part of the occupied  territories," the diplomat said. At the same time, he stressed that  the status quo no longer proceeds from the interests of Armenia,  since in the context of closed borders and limited human and material  resources, corruption risks increase. "Corruption is not born and  thrives, because people are bad, but because there are appropriate  conditions for this," the diplomat said.