The peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is of key importance for the stability and security of the region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said this during his speech at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, reports Armenpress.
“From the very first day of my tenure, I have taken steps in this very direction. To this end, I made a statement stating that any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy that I was the first Armenian leader to express such a position regarding the resolution of the conflict. I was severely criticised in my country for a formula of resolution that places an equal sign between the 3 sides of the conflict. Nevertheless, I believe that this is the key to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, because it presupposes the possibility of compromise, mutual respect and balance. I presented this formula not only to the public, but also within the framework of the negotiations conducted under the co-chairmanship of the OSCE Minsk Group. To move forward, I expected a similar statement from Azerbaijan as well. However, Azerbaijan’s highest authorities remained on their position, seeking a solution to the Karabakh issue that would be acceptable only to the people of Azerbaijan. What does that mean in reality? It means that the Azerbaijani authorities have no intention of resolving this conflict. Instead, they want to defeat the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. They do not want to make any compromise. Their goal is revenge for the failed attempts to attack the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s and in 2016. That is why they inflame anti-Armenian sentiments among their people, that is why they spend enormous resources on armaments, that is why Armenophobia has already become the official policy of Azerbaijan,” said Pashinyan.
He added that, in fact, our adversaries want to bring back the Soviet-era status of Nagorno-Karabakh. “But that is a futile effort, because during the Soviet period, the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast declared their independence and exercised self-determination just as Azerbaijan did by leaving the Soviet Union. Azerbaijan’s position is tantamount to the idea of restoring the Soviet Union. The Azerbaijani government presents the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We do not at all agree with such an interpretation of the conflict. This is not a dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This dispute is not about territorial claims. It is about people, about men, women and their right to live in their homeland, as their ancestors lived for centuries. Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani authorities do not want to talk to those people and negotiate with them, because they want to have territories, but not people. More precisely, territories without people,” noted the Armenian Prime Minister.
Nikol Pashinyan considered it important to explain why he is addressing this topic. “It may seem that I want to contribute to the increase of tension in the region. Of course not, on the contrary, I want to say that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a very complex and painful issue for the peoples of the region, which is impossible to resolve without serious and consistent work, without compromise, mutual respect and a balanced approach. Therefore, I call on my counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev, to accept the formula of creating conditions for progress in the peace process. Every solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the people of Armenia, the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the people of Azerbaijan. We must work together to make this formula a reality,” concluded Pashinyan.
