Armenian PM highlights need to form respective environment for peaceful settlement of NK conflict

Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan states that there cannot be a military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, adding that it is necessary to create a respective environment for reaching the peaceful settlement of the conflict, Pashinyan said at the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee in response to the question of one of the Committee members.

“In September I made an unprecedented statement in the Parliament according to which the settlement of the conflict must be acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan. And I hoped that a similar statement would be made from Azerbaijan, its president, but, unfortunately, that hopes were not justified.

Quite the contrary, Azerbaijan continues to threaten, stating that they are ready to solve the conflict by force without taking into account the interests of the populations of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. I think in such circumstances it’s difficult to expect the quick solution of the issue”, the Armenian PM said.

The Armenian PM also highlighted the issue of the negotiations format. “It is internationally accepted that the Karabakh conflict has three sides which was enshrined during the OSCE summit in Budapest in 1994. However, till now only two sides have been involved in the negotiations , and unfortunately, Armenia and Azerbaijan have negotiated without the participation of Nagorno Karabakh. This was perhaps due to the fact that the former leaders of Armenia were from Karabakh by their origins and believed that they could present the interests of Nagorno Karabakh.

I am the Prime Minister of Armenia, not that of Nagorno Karabakh. The people of Nagorno Karabakh are not participating in the elections in Armenia and are not citizens of Armenia, therefore I cannot negotiate on behalf of themselves. Hence, the second side of the issue is that a respective format for negotiations should be created, which is impossible without the inclusion of Nagorno Karabakh in this process”, PM Pashinyan said.