In Germany, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan answered questions from participants in a discussion held at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. A representative of the Azerbaijani community in Germany addressed a question to Nikol Pashinyan regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“I consider you a very great democrat. When you came to power, many in Azerbaijan were of the opinion that you would no longer represent Karabakh. Many hoped that you would take important steps towards peace, for example, in the form of the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijan’s ‘occupied territories.’ Unfortunately, that did not happen. Then came your statement, ‘Karabakh is Armenia, and that’s it.’ What do you do with that hope, Mr. Pashinyan?”
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, replied that the issue cannot be resolved through unilateral actions.
“You speak of territories. In Azerbaijan, they love to talk about territories very much, but it is very important to understand that we are talking about security, in a country where a person is glorified for having killed an Armenian.”
Nikol Pashinyan told those present about Ramil Safarov axing an Armenian officer to death while he was asleep, emphasizing that the Azerbaijani officer, sentenced to life imprisonment in Hungary, was released after being extradited to Azerbaijan — moreover, he was glorified.
“The security zone they talk about in Azerbaijan was created because of this logic, because peaceful settlements were being bombed by Azerbaijan. When they say territory, we understand security. Not only Armenia, but also Nagorno-Karabakh is not ready to give up its security. The solution to this situation may be linked to the absence of security guarantees.”
Regarding the statement “Artsakh is Armenia, and that’s it,” Nikol Pashinyan noted:
“We have said that we perceive an attack by Azerbaijan on Karabakh as an attack on the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia is the guarantor of Karabakh’s security, and with that, everything has been said.”
Nikol Pashinyan emphasized that after the first meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the tension on the line of contact has reached an unprecedentedly low level:
“We have not seen any constructive step from Azerbaijan during the 1.5 years of the negotiation process, but on the other hand, I want to appreciate the situation we have managed to achieve with Aliyev since September 2018.
I have great hope that through constructive discussions we will succeed not only in maintaining this relatively stable and calm situation, but also in moving forward towards a real settlement.”
