No one can speak to Armenia from a position of strength. This was stated by Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the Paris Peace Conference, in response to a question from an Azerbaijani participant.
“Unfortunately, Azerbaijan continues to insist that Yerevan, the capital of independent Armenia, is an Azerbaijani city. Meanwhile, our proposal is peace, and we do not use threats against anyone in our region. We are ready for peace,” he said, in response to the Azerbaijani participant’s question.
Pashinyan emphasized that he is personally ready to begin a dialogue not only with the Azerbaijani government, but also with the Azerbaijani people, “because we have much to discuss.” Responding to the Azerbaijani participant’s question about “internationally recognized Karabakh within Azerbaijan,” Pashinyan stressed that the internationally recognized format, named the “OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” has a mandate to make a decision on the final status of Karabakh. “Your government is engaged in the negotiation process. If Karabakh is an internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan, why are you conducting negotiations regarding the definition of its status?” he said.
The Azerbaijani participant also stated that he is Azerbaijani, but was born in Vardenis, and his family was forced to leave Armenia at the beginning of the conflict.
“Armenians were being killed in Azerbaijan during the Sumgait pogroms, and later the killings continued in Baku and spread to Karabakh. They fled Azerbaijan without clothes. As for what happened in Armenia, by decision of the government, Azerbaijanis were provided with buses and were escorted by police. No Azerbaijani was harmed,” said Pashinyan, adding that this demonstrates the essence of the conflict.
