Tuesday, July 25 2023 17:37

ArmInfo. None of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries refused to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated on July 25 at a press conference, referring to the reaction of the Russian Foreign Ministry to its earlier statement on the recognition of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.  86.6 thousand square kilometers of Azerbaijan includes also Nagorno Karabakh

On May 22, at a press conference, Nikol Pashinyan stated that 86.6  thousand square kilometers of Azerbaijan includes both  Nagorno-Karabakh and the so-called enclaves.  On July 15, the Russian  Foreign Ministry issued a statement in which, in addition to calling  on the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately open the Lachin  Corridor and their readiness to organize a tripartite meeting of  foreign ministers in Moscow, it also noted that at summits under the  auspices of the European Union held  in October 2022 and May 2023,  Armenia recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territory of  Azerbaijan. 

<We respect the sovereign decision of the Armenian leadership,  however, this radically changed the fundamental conditions under  which the Statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia  of November 9, 2020 was signed, as well as the position of the  Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in the region. We believe  that under these conditions, responsibility for the fate of the  Armenian population of Karabakh should not be shifted to third  countries. It is necessary to immediately start preparing a peace  treaty between Baku and Yerevan, based on previously reached  agreements>, the text of the statement of the Russian Foreign  Ministry reads.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasizes that Yerevan has always recognized the  territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, but this has not always been  declared and recorded. "I state with regret that there is not a  single country in the world that would not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh  as part of Azerbaijan," the prime minister said.  According to him,  he knew that this issue would be raised at a press conference and was  preparing for it, "not to counter, but only to clarify." Thus,  Pashinyan read out a fragment of the statement of Russian President  Vladimir Putin at a press conference on December 17, 2020: "From an  international legal point of view, I also spoke about this, all these  territories are an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. I  repeat once again, Armenia itself did not recognize the independence  of Nagorno-Karabakh, therefore, in this sense, bearing in mind this  circumstance, Nagorno-Karabakh itself is also Azerbaijan from the  point of view of international law>.

He also read out the statement of the French co-chair Stephane  Visconti  during a meeting with members of the Senate commission on  January 8, 2020: "Nagorno-Karabakh is a mountainous enclave located  in Azerbaijan." Then he recalled the wording given in the annual  report of the US State Department on human rights. In particular, in  reports from 2012 to 2016, it is noted that "the separatists, with  the assistance of Armenia, continued to hold most of Nagorno-Karabakh  and 7 other territories of Azerbaijan."

"We, after very tragic events, wondered if this is the position of  the international community, then how can we go against it. At the  same time, the question is whether we are fully aware of all the  consequences of this. Unfortunately, we did not always understand or  realize this>, he said.

Referring to the remark of the Russian Foreign Ministry that "under  these conditions, responsibility for the fate of the Armenian  population of Karabakh should not be shifted to third countries", the  Armenian prime minister pointed out that Armenia has been an  independent state for 30 years, "until when it will call Moscow and  Washington on every issue." <How long will we live in the genre of  <letters to the Russian Tsar>? At the same time, our compatriots from  Nagorno-Karabakh have a significant role in the development of this  genre, but not only them. Don't we see today what problems Moscow  itself has?  And who will solve its problems? Everyone has problems,"  he said.

According to the prime minister, Armenia, as an independent state,  must take the next step into adulthood, realizing that RA, first of  all, should solve its problems independently.