David Babayan: Karabakh must restore its status as a full-fledged  party to the negotiations

ArmInfo. There can't be a return to the past in the Karabakh issue, " David Babayan, NKR  President's Spokesperson and presidential candidate from the "Artsakh  Conservative Party" stated in an interview with ArmInfo's  correspondent.

Babayan stated that, in particular, there can be no return to the  past in terms of the status and territory of Artsakh, emphasizing  that security remains in the first place for the NKR. "Karabakh must  again restore its status as a full-fledged party to the negotiations  on the Artsakh issue. We need to work in this direction, but  certainly it should'nt be considered that restoring a full-fledged  format will be an easy task. Azerbaijan will do everything possible  to prevent this. This is a very long and laborious process, we should  be patient, "he said.

The candidate for presidency of Artsakh touched upon the topic of the  so-called "Azerbaijani community of Karabakh" emphasizing that such a  state concept does not exist. "This is an artificial concept. It is  not a state entity, it is not a party to negotiations, its status has  not been recognized by any state, interstate or international  organization. That is, the status of the Republic of Artsakh, as a  party to the conflict and a party to the negotiations, has been  recognized by the international community through the OSCE. And we  will never agree to equalize our status with the status of this  "community", "Babayan noted.

Touching upon relations with Yerevan, the NKR presidential candidate  said that there are people who today say that if they are not in  power in Artsakh, a crisis may arise in relations between the two  countries.  Babayan did not agree with this point of view,  emphasizing that no matter who is in power in Armenia and Artsakh,  they are obliged to maintain fraternal relations with each other. "We  are one homeland, two states.  Even if the leaders of Armenia and NKR  never knew each other, they are obliged to support each other and be  brothers. The most important achievement today is our unity," he  stressed.

Babayan also said that relations between the two republics should  continue to develop in all directions, as life is very dynamic and  does not stand still.

Regarding his election program, the presidential candidate noted that  the program is multilateral. "It concerns domestic policy, foreign  policy, socio-economic field, defense, environmental sector. We pay  special attention to rural development, since we believe that the  gene pool of our population is maintained in the village. We are  thinking of creating the so-called Red Book of endangered villages.  We have villages from which there is an outflow of the population. In  some of them over the past half century, the population has decreased  10-fold. We propose that these villages be included in the so-called  Red Book and the state will implement a certain policy there. For  example, prices for gas, electricity, Internet, water will be very  low. It's a tool for reanimation of villages, we will see if we can  get the villages out of this difficult situation. If it doesn't work,  we will introduce other changes. We attach great importance to  creating border strongholds in Artsakh, which differ from the border  settlements as such. Take for example the village of Talish. We  believe that it cannot be perceived as an ordinary village, because  there is a danger that we may lose it. It is located just a kilometer  from the Azerbaijani border, it was razed to the ground. In April  2016, villagers were again attacked. Now the state is conducting a  large-scale project there again, but Azerbaijan can once again raze  all these programs to the ground with one shot. But, if this village  receives the status of a stronghold settlement, a kind of support  bastion, similar to Cossack villages, the situation will change  dramatically. Only the army should be there, and behind this  stronghold should be the village of Talish, which, in turn, will help  the stronghold>, Babayan said.

He also noted that the "Artsakh Conservative Party" attaches  particular importance to environmental safety, foreign and domestic  policy. "We believe that Artsakh should continue to strengthen and  expand its relations with historical partners, fraternal countries.  With Russia, with Iran, with America, with Georgia, with all  countries where there is an Armenian community, and with which we  have had friendship relations for centuries. Because otherwise we  will not be able to resist the challenges, "the presidential  candidate emphasized.

Regarding his chances of winning, Babayan said: "We will strive to  win. Sometimes I am asked why I have run in elections, whether my  chances to win are little. This is similar to a situation when a  person goes to war. Does anyone go into the army, only if 100% sure  that he will remain alive? After all, he must be prepared for the  fact that he can be injured or even killed. If a person is in the  army only in the firm belief that he will remain alive, such an army  will be incapacitated. We have entered this field without external  pressure, without any assistance from outside, without any  expectations. Since we have created a political party, we will  participate in all the upcoming elections. We have already  participated in the elections to local governments, we had two  candidates for the Council of Elders and both of them passed in  Stepanakert and the village of Sos. We will fight regardless of  circumstances, market conditions, surveys and public opinion,  "Babayan concluded.

It should be noted that on March 31, 2020, presidential and  parliamentary elections will be held in Artsakh.