Artsakh will not be a part of Azerbaijan - Nagorno-Karabakh foreign  office 

ArmInfo.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nagorno- Karabakh issued the following statement: 

Recently, various discussions, comments, opinions regarding the  status of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic have intensified again, which  is an objective process, taking into account the key nature of this  issue in the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement process.

Official Stepanakert welcomes any steps aimed at peaceful and  comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, as  well as settling the relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. At the  same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh  is authorized to state that the official stance of the people and the  authorities of Artsakh remains unchangeable.

Artsakh will not be a part of Azerbaijan. The settlement of relations  between Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the solution of the border  issue between the two countries, cannot and should not be tied to the  status of the Artsakh Republic.

The territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan has no  relation to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and its status which has  been determined by the people of our country in full and strict  compliance with the norms and principles of international law and the  then acting Soviet legislation.

At their meeting in Prague, mediated by the EU and France, the  Armenian and Azerbaijani FMs reached an agreement on normalization of  the Armenian-Azerbaijani relations based on the UN charter and 1991  Almaty declaration. Russian FM Sergey Lavrov stated that the sides  agreed without any reservations. He stressed that, according to the  Almaty declaration, "Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan."