Wednesday, January 13 2021 18:27

ArmInfo.OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Igor Popov  commented on RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's article on the 44-day war in Artsakh. This was reported  by the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In his article,  Nikol Pashinyan, in particular, noted that Russia's proposals on the  settlement of the conflict did not affect the status of Artsakh, and  in fact it was only supposed to surrender seven regions to  Azerbaijan.

In response to Pashinyan's article, Popov replied: "The Russian  proposals probably mean a phased settlement plan, the latest version  of which was submitted to the parties in June 2019 by the OSCE Minsk  Group co-chairs. This plan, which largely coincides with the Kazan  document, is based on the basic principles of the Nagorno-Karabakh  regulation, including the return of five regions to Azerbaijan at the  first stage, and two regions at the second stage, and, I will  emphasize this especially, in conjunction with the determination of  the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Among other elements of the first  stage that reflect Yerevan's interests are the recognition of  Nagorno-Karabakh's rights that ensure the organization of full-  fledged life of its population, the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh  representatives in OSCE meetings, lifting the blockade, opening  borders, accepting commitments by the parties not to use force, and  more. 

Therefore, to assert that Russia offered to return the seven regions  "for nothing", to forget about the status and be quiet, is not true.

As for the options for resolving the problem of the final status of  Nagorno-Karabakh, the proposals on the negotiating table in recent  years envisaged as the final goal, I quote: . By the way, it was  also proposed to consider the width and status of the Lachin corridor  only at the second stage, taking into account the return of the  Kelbajar and Lachin regions to Azerbaijan.

Neither the Armenian nor the Azeri sides rejected these proposals,  although it was not possible to reach full agreement, but the main  thing is that the negotiations were conducted on a regular basis,  until 2018, when Yerevan put forward new approaches>.