Artsakh Foreign Minister: OSCE MG Co-Chair countries are directly responsible for development of situation in Artsakh

ArmInfo. The Artsakh side has  never refused to conduct direct negotiations between Stepanakert and  Baku. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Sergey Ghazaryan stated  on July 6 during the Yerevan-Stepanakert video bridge.

But, as Ghazaryan noted, in order for the dialogue to be  constructive, Azerbaijan must follow certain criteria. Both  representatives of the parties and international partners receive  various proposals regarding the organization of the dialogue process.  But for this, some elements need to be considered. On February 24 and  March 1, with the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping forces, such  negotiations were held, during which technical issues were discussed,  but subsequently the Azerbaijani side launched a sabotage attack, as  a result of which three policemen were killed and one was injured.  <With such a development of events, it is not necessary to talk about  dialogue. For dialogue, Azerbaijan should take the first step,  namely, to open the road, ensuring the unhindered supply of food and  medicine. This will be a sign for us to change approaches, namely,  the readiness of the opposite side for dialogue>, said the head of  the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh.

He noted that despite all these facts, negotiations are held  periodically. Stepanakert, with the involvement of Russian  peacekeepers, transmitted proposals to the Azerbaijani side, which  were rejected by Azerbaijan.  Answering a question about Baku's  demands to disband the Artsakh Defense Army, Sergey Ghazaryan noted  that he noted that the Artsakh Defense Army is the most important  factor in protecting the security of the residents of  Nagorno-Karabakh. Against the backdrop of aggressive actions and  militant rhetoric on the part of Baku, it becomes obvious that such a  development of events is impossible, and even more so, discussions on  this issue. "The demand to disband the Defense Army has always been  on the agenda of the Azerbaijani authorities, and Azerbaijani  President Ilham Aliyev spoke about this yesterday, but the Defense  Army ensures the security of the people of Artsakh," the republic's  Foreign Minister said.

Speaking about the letter of Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan  addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the  media, the minister noted that such letters are sent not only to the  head of the Russian state, but also to the heads of various  international organizations, politicians of various countries. "It's  just that in the current situation, the authorities of Artsakh took  this step. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia had a  telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, during which he once  again drew the attention of the head of the Russian state to the  situation in Artsakh. We expect that the Russian peacekeepers, within  the framework of the commitments made in accordance with the  tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, will make every effort to  lift the blockade of Artsakh. Moreover, since June 15, it has not  been possible to deliver food products or basic necessities to the  republic. We are waiting for a response from the Russian side>,  Ghazaryan emphasized.

Commenting on the statement by U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina  Kvien that the United States considers the security of the Armenians  of Artsakh within Azerbaijan possible, the Nagorno-Karabakh Foreign  Minister stressed that against the backdrop of what happened in  recent months, Stepanakert expects more active involvement in the  process of peaceful settlement of the problem, and not only at the  level of calls or statements, but by concrete actions. "They bear a  share of responsibility for the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh,  primarily for the prevention of ethnic cleansing. This is not their  right, but their responsibility>, the Artsakh Foreign Minister noted.