Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has called Azerbaijan the only party responsible for the lack of progress in the Karabakh peace process answering criticism voiced by the neighboring state’s leader on Tuesday.
In comments made to news.am, the Armenian Foreign Minister said authorities in Baku are to blame for the unchanging status quo and the international community is well aware of this.
“If Azerbaijan is, in fact, interested in a status quo change, it should have given consent to the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs instead of rejecting them over the last few years,” said Nalbandian.
In a speech made on the occasion of Nowruz on March 19 Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of assuming a “non-constructive” position in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, insisting that Yerevan is interested in the maintenance of the status quo.
He also contended that while Azerbaijan was getting stronger from year to year, Armenia was getting weaker due to its isolation from major regional projects – a policy that he said Azerbaijan will continue to pursue in the future as well.
In this regard, the Armenian Foreign Minister stressed that the difference between Azerbaijan and Armenia is indeed huge. He said that while Azerbaijan is strengthening an authoritarian regime, Armenia is strengthening democracy.
“It is clearly seen in the assessments and rankings issued by international agencies,” he said.
“In Azerbaijan they think they can buy reputation, friends, and erect monuments, push forward questionable resolutions and present this to the Azerbaijani society as an achievement and as proof of high reputation. It is not the money and caviar that helps build international reputation. We have recently witnessed what happened to no less rich and self-confident authoritarian regimes,” concluded Nalbandian.
