Ashotyan: Statement by the OSCE Minsk Group following the meeting of  the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan is the best for the  last 1.5 years.

ArmInfo. "The wanderings of a couple of Pashinyan- Mnatsakanyan in the Karabakh issue over the past 1.5 years ended in the fact that in order to avoid impending  disaster, they again began to hold on to a life buoy in the form of a  package to resolve the Karabakh conflict, developed by a couple of  Sargsyan-Nalbandyan," said Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of  Armenia Armen Ashotyan on December 6 at a press conference.

According to Ashotyan, if you listen to the speech of Foreign  Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in Bratislava, then, apart from the idea  of acceptable conflict resolution for the three peoples (Armenia,  Artsakh and Azerbaijan. Ed.), It seems that ex-minister Eduard  Nalbandyan is speaking.

However, discussions on Karabakh in Bratislava are very vague. "It is  necessary to understand what happened in Bratislava. I have versions  that I don't want to voice at the moment, but I think that the  authorities, who have declared themselves transparent, should explain  what really happened there," the RPA deputy head said. At the same  time, as Ashotyan admits, the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-  chairs, despite a number of episodes controversial for the Armenian  side, is "the best for the last 1.5 years." Recall that on December 4  in the evening in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, a meeting was  held between the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab  Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mammadyarov. It was held as part of the 26th  OSCE Ministerial Conference with the participation of the OSCE Minsk  Group co- chairs Igor Popov (RF), Stefan Visconti (France) and Andrew  Chaufer (USA), as well as personal representative of the OSCE  Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk.

The heads of delegations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing  countries made a joint statement on the eve of the meeting of the  Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Karabakh settlement in  Bratislava. The statement, in particular, states that the heads of  delegations of the co-chairing countries welcome concrete steps taken  last year to reduce tensions and prepare the population for peace,  which the co-chairing countries called for in a Milan statement in  December 2018 and the ministers agreed in Paris in January 2019. "We  recommend (make) efforts to implement humanitarian measures that were  discussed by the leaders of the countries at the meeting in Vienna in  March and which were prepared by the foreign ministers in Moscow in  April," the statement said. An example is the recently concluded  exchange of journalists and the "simultaneous release of prisoners on  28 June".

Noting that only such efforts play an important role in creating an  atmosphere conducive to substantive negotiations for a peaceful  settlement, the three heads of delegation called for additional  specific humanitarian and security measures.

The statement noted that the heads of delegation of the co-chairing  countries urged the parties to immediately take concrete steps to  implement the previously reached agreements on humanitarian and  security measures.

The authors of the statement welcome the intention of the foreign  ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia to meet again in early 2020 under  the auspices of the co-chairs to intensify negotiations on key issues  of a peaceful settlement and to facilitate further high-level  negotiations.

The heads of delegation of the co-chairing countries emphasized that  the status quo is unacceptable and that there can be no military  solution to the conflict. "Therefore, we urge the parties to conduct  substantive negotiations on the merits without artificial delays or  conditions," the statement emphasizes.

The authors of the document express confidence that the format of the  OSCE Minsk Group remains an indispensable center for achieving a  stable settlement.