Stepanakert: If the hostilities resume in the region it will be  catastrophic not only for the region, but for the whole international  community

ArmInfo. If one considers the pace and scope with which Azerbaijan builds up its military arsenal, it becomes clear that it doesn't buy arms to store in a  warehouse, but rather with an intention to use them one day. Artsakh  Foreign Minister Masis Mayilian said this in an interview with the  "Nationalia" News Agency Operating in Barcelona, answering the  question whether Stepanakert admits the likelihood of another  aggression from the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. 

At the same time, the Minister expressed his conviction that: " It  will use every opportunity to test the grounds, to check if it is the  right time to start a new aggression. We have seen Azerbaijan doing  so in April 2016, and quite recently, on July 12, on the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in the Tavush region of Armenia. In both  cases Ђrtsakh and Armenian defence forces gave an appropriate  response. There is no reason to believe that Azerbaijan will not give  it another try when it feels itself strong enough to unleash another  military adventure.  And , of course, we know it and Artsakh Defence  Army stands ready to rebuke any aggression as it has done before.>

To refinement, how is NKR MFA, and the larger Artsakh government,  working in the international diplomatic arena in this context in  order to strengthen the position of Artsakh, given the fact that it  continues to be unrecognized, the diplomat noted that the Foreign  Ministry and the Artsakh authorities, in general, do their utmost to  present to the world the true picture of the events.

"The position of our Republic has been unchanged since the  proclamation of its independence. We have always been in favour of  the resolution of the conflict exclusively by peaceful means. This  position has been voiced on numerous occasions both publicly and  during the meetings with the OSCE Chairperson- in- Office and Minsk  Group Co-chairs, and many statements of the foreign ministry  circulated in the international organizations like OSCE, UN, CE etc.   We make no secret of the fact , that we want peace, at the same time  we realize what an ancient Latin philosopher had in mind noting "Si  vis pacem, para bellum -If you want peace, be prepared for war". And  we have gone through it already", the head of the NKR Foreign  Ministry stressed.

At the same time, Mayilian stated: "Sometimes, a single glance at the  region is enough to understand the underlying reality of the  developments taking place in the conflict zone. As you have mentioned  in your first question, thousands of demonstrators in Baku demanded  from the Azerbaijani government to start a large-scale war. In  fairness, however, it should be noted that the demonstrators that  broke into the country's parliament building also had an  anti-government agenda. It just shows the role the conflict plays in  the internal life of Azerbaijan and how prepared is the Azerbaijani  society, and the government for peace or the peaceful settlement of  the conflict.

Peace can not be reached unilaterally, all sides to the conflict  should strive for it. And no matter, how loudly we announce of our  readiness to reach peace with our neighbors, they should be both  receptive and perceptive of peace. Unfortunately, for years the  anti-Armenian sentiments in Azerbaijan have been cultivated into a  state-run policy and instead of preparing its population for peace,  Azerbaijan has been preparing it for war. This is the reality we face  today. And this is the reality the international community should  deal with. Independent of the fact whether the country is recognized  or unrecognized , it is the people that we should think of. And we do  our part not only to ensure the security and safety of our people,  but to play a constructive role in contributing to peace and  stability in the region", he emphasized.

To clarify why there was no progress in the negotiation process, as  many analysts forecasted, after Nikol Pashinyan came to power in  Armenia in 2018, Mayilyan once again noted that peace can not be  reached unilaterally.  

"Azerbaijan should work towards peace as well, through contributing  to the atmosphere of trust that will allow for the peace process to  take off. Without excluding the possibility of the use of force and  creating an atmosphere conducive to the resumption of peace talks,  the situation will not get any better.  And, most importantly,  Azerbaijan should understand once and for all that without the  resumption of the trilateral format of negotiations with the direct  participation of the Republic of Artsakh in them, it is naive to  expect any tangible progress in the peace process. Let me remind  here, that the only significant achievement in the peace process to  date has been the signing of the term-less cease- fire agreement in  May 12, 1994, when Artsakh participated in the talks.  And it is  logical that if the Agreement to cease the hostilities and fire was  signed by Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) as one of the two main parties  to the conflict, hence the peace deal should also be negotiated and  signed by Artsakh . To ignore this fact, would mean to deliberately  negate peace.  Azerbaijan and the relevant international agencies  should work towards improving Azerbaijan's human rights record,  fostering democratic developments in the country and educating its  society about the benefits of peace and not war", the NKR Foreign  Minister said.

When asked to assess Turkey's position on this issue, Mayilian  stated: "Turkey has never been neutral in its stance over the  conflict despite being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group that through  its tripartite co-chairmanship mediates the peaceful settlement of  the conflict. It is the only country in the region, that has not only  publicly voiced its support for the brotherly Azerbaijan but also has  backed the Azerbaijani blockade of Armenia and the Republic of  Artsakh. It is not a secret that Turkey also helps Azerbaijan in  army-building, considering that many Azerbaijani officers are trained  in Turkey and Turkish military consultants advise the Azeri military  leadership.

We consider the statement by the Turkish Government in support of the  provocations and violations of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan  unacceptable. We emphasize once again that such a position of Turkey  makes its membership in the OSCE Minsk Group senseless.

It should be clear that South Caucasus is a region with a very  complex geopolitics and multiple players; both regional and outside  the region; with varying levels of interests. And it is not by chance  that the Co-chair countries of the Minsk group dealing with the  conflict are Russia, France and the US.

One thing is clear: if the hostilities resume in the region it will  be catastrophic not only for the region, but for the whole  international community. The Republic of Artsakh stands ready to take  its share of responsibility for maintaining peace and security in the  region, its time for other stakeholders do the same".