Unilateral actions cannot help solve the Karabakh issue, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
“Even if we assume any Armenian authority can take unilateral action, it will not solve the problem, but will rather deepen it. Azerbaijan likes to talk about territories, but it is important to understand that we are talking about security,” the Prime Minister said.
“The buffer zone Azerbaijan is talking about has been created, because peaceful settlements are being bombarded by Azerbaijan, forcing civilians, children to live in basements for years,” he stated.
The Prime Minister noted that Azerbaijan is a country where a man is being glorified for killing an Armenian.
“In 2004, NATO invites officers from Armenia and Azerbaijan to Budapest under a peacekeeping program. In Budapest, they attend joint seminars, and an Azerbaijani officer kills a sleeping Armenian officer. The Budapest court sentences him to life in prison. Some time later the Hungarian government decided to extradite the officer to Azerbaijan. Upon arrival, the President of Azerbaijan signs a decree on the release of the officer, who gets his entire salary paid, is given a flat, a military rank, and receives the encouragement of the mass media,” Pashinyan reminded.
“And when it comes to territory, we perceive it as security. And first of all, not the Republic of Armenia, but the Republic of Karabakh is not ready to compromise its own security, just as no country is ready to compromise its security. That is to say, the solution to this situation can only be linked to security guarantees that are not there. And they haven’t been. And their absence has created the current situation,” he added.
Referring to his statement “Karabakh is Armenia, full stop,” the Prime Minister said it has a very clear and specific explanation.
“We have said that Azerbaijan’s attack on Karabakh will be seen as an attack on the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of the security of Karabakh. And this says everything,” he explained.
PM Pashinyan made it clear that “we have not seen any constructive step by Azerbaijan in the negotiation process over the past one and a half year.”
“On the other hand, I would like to appreciate the fact with Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev we have managed to reach an unprecedented low level of tension since our first meeting in September 2018.
“And I hope that, as a result of constructive discussions, we will not only be able to maintain this relatively stable and calm situation, but also move forward with de jure settlement,” the Prime Minister concluded.
