Official Stepanakert rejects Azerbaijan’s offer to meet in Baku at the beginning of April and discuss so-called reintegration issues.
The Artsakh Foreign Ministry today reaffirmed its previously stated position: they are ready to meet with Azerbaijan’s representatives, but at the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Artsakh and at the location of their command headquarters, that is, in Ivanyan, where, in particular, they would discuss issues related to the uninterrupted operation of the Lachin corridor.
Referring to Azerbaijan’s offer to meet in Baku and discuss so-called reintegration issues, official Stepanakert stressed that “the conditions voiced by the Azerbaijani side, as well as the context in which the given offer was presented, testify that the goal of Azerbaijan’s authorities is not a genuine discussion of existing problems, but the disruption of possible dialogue or the imposition of their own political agenda through coercion, blockade, the creation of unbearable living conditions and the use of military force.”
The Artsakh Foreign Ministry, in particular, recalled that “Azerbaijan’s armed forces, grossly violating the provisions of the November 9 trilateral statement last Saturday, crossed the line of contact and advanced deep into Artsakh’s territory, in the direction of the Stepanakert-Lisagor dirt road. Moreover, yesterday they once again attempted to take control of that road, which, under blockade conditions, is the only possible link between the communities of the Shushi district and other settlements of Artsakh.
Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan expressed confidence that “through reasonable steps it is possible to overcome this difficult period as well, while preserving and protecting the vital interests of the Republic of Artsakh.”
