Azerbaijan questions its independence by perspectiveless steps – Armenian Deputy FM

Azerbaijan was outraged by the fact that a very simple thing was announced – any settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict supposes the following: Artsakh cannot be a part of Azerbaijan, Armenian deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said commenting on the reaction of the Azerbaijani side to the Armenian President’s statement after the Geneva meeting.

“In this regard a bluster has emerged in Azerbaijan. Baku is questioning Artsakh’s independence pretending that it has forgotten that both the NKR and Azerbaijan have gained independence on the same basis. This took place under the Soviet Union in accordance with its Constitution. By the collapse of the Soviet Union both are equal, moreover, independence referendum in Artsakh was held earlier than in Azerbaijan”, the deputy FM said.

The deputy minister said Azerbaijan with its perspectiveless steps or statements is questioning its independence. “If territorial integrity is so sacred to Azerbaijan, then why did it become independent?”, he said.

Commenting on the agreements reached during the negotiations, deputy FM Kocharyan said the Armenian side has never violated them and will not violate: “Azerbaijan is the one that always violates them since it completely presents something different from what is being talked about over the negotiation table. This is obvious, it’s enough to examine the 5 statements of the presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries where the principles of negotiations are revealed, and compare them with the Azerbaijani statements”.