Azerbaijan is Categorically Insistent on the Artsakh Issue, Armenia Must Declare Artsakh is Armenia and That's That - Pashinyan

If Azerbaijan insists that Nagorno-Karabakh should belong to Azerbaijan and this principle is categorical without recognizing any compromise, then Armenia must also declare that Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it. This was stated today by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at a press conference in Vanadzor.

Recall that on August 5, during a rally held in Stepanakert, Pashinyan stated in his speech that Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it.

The prime minister noted that Azerbaijan continuously declares that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will be solved based on one principle - within the framework of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. However, during working discussions with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, it was stated that the status of Artsakh can be different, even outside of Azerbaijan’s composition, he said.

He reminded that he declared a year ago that any solution to the issue of Artsakh should be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Artsakh, and Azerbaijan. Pashinyan emphasized that he has been the first leader of Armenia to speak about some acceptable solution from the Azerbaijani people, for which he faced criticism in Armenia.

He also mentioned that a year ago he expected a similar statement from the Azerbaijani leadership, but they never made such a declaration.

Reporters asked what Pashinyan thinks about the statement from former U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Matthew Bryza, in which he claimed that Baku is ready to resolve the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh, and that the process is only stagnating because of the Armenian side. In response, Pashinyan stated that Bryza's assertion is incorrect. "By the way, what is he doing now? Maybe we can find him a more suitable occupation. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge in terms of negotiations since he was a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, and I am not convinced that he is fully aware of everything. If the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem was easy, why didn’t he resolve it when he was a co-chair?" Pashinyan remarked.

It is worth mentioning that following the statement 'This is Armenia and that’s it,' Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan stated that it does not imply any changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation process.