Russia announces a change in the status of its OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair

Igor Khovaev, the Russian Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will continue his work in the new status of special representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for the settlement of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told journalists.

"Let me remind you that on February 24, Washington and Paris stopped all contacts with Moscow within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Meanwhile, the situation in the South Caucasus doesn't allow for negotiation pauses. Since the United States and France have terminated the Co-Chairs' cooperation, consistent steps are needed towards restoring long-term peace and stability in the region. Ambassador-at-Large Khovaev will continue his work with a new quality as the special representative of the Russian Foreign Minister for the settlement of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Zakharova said.

According to the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the topic of preparing a peace treaty is in the focus of Khovaev's attention.

The real situation in the South Caucasus doesn't allow for negotiation pauses and requires further consistent steps to restore long-term peace in the region, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said.

"The real situation in the South Caucasus doesn't allow for pauses in negotiations. Further consistent steps are required to restore long-term peace and stability in the region, especially when the United States and France have stopped cooperation between the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs," the diplomat said, answering a question from journalists about the preparation of a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"In order to establish interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the fundamental principles proposed by Baku and Yerevan's reaction to them should become the basis for the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on a peace treaty," she said.

Zakharova also commented on the prevention of the entry of Armenian MPs into the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeepers, saying that the Russian peacekeeping contingent operates in accordance with the provisions of the statement of the heads of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia from November 9, 2020. That visit was not agreed in advance with the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

"We believe that the statements about the actions of Russian peacekeepers, which allegedly contradict the provisions of the statement of November 9, are incorrect. We expect that, taking into account the incidents both in the area of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers and in certain sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, both sides will refrain from additional steps that aggravate the situation in the region," Zakharova said.

Now we are not talking about being or not being of Armenia or Artsakh. Nikol Pashinyan

During his concluding speech at the National Assembly Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that with his yesterday's speech they opened a space for the Republic of Armenia, for Artsakh, because during the whole negotiation process of the previous period, Armenia and Artsakh were deprived of political and diplomatic space. 

"Exotic thoughts are voiced, those thoughts are voiced as a threat that if something does not happen in this or that way, we will take out the people of Karabakh from Karabakh or the people of Karabakh will leave. There is an impression that there are people who dream that the people leave Karabakh as soon as possible. No, we say that the people of Karabakh should not leave Karabakh, the people of Karabakh should live in Karabakh, the people of Karabakh should have rights, freedoms, status in Karabakh․ That's what we are talking about, and yes, we have opened that space. 

We are a state, we are a nation, we are sovereign, yes we are self-respecting, and yes, we are bleeding, but we have dignity and we will not allow someone else to decide or take away our rights by manipulating us, introducing models of patriotism, telling us that we have to be patriotic in the way that is in our interests. We must be patriotic in the way that is in the interests of these children (the NA session was attended by students of 198 Yerevan High School - ed.) I don’t know what they are told, I even don’t know what their teachers tell them, but today I tell them that I will not allow our generations to be kept in the status of a sacrificial lamb. 

How much is it possible to play on the emotions of the victims? I kneel and kneeled at the tombs of the victims, and I know and I said for what our martyrs fell. They have fallen to force us not to allow to be kept in the status of sacrificial lamb for centuries. We are a state, we are a country, we are citizens, we are a proud people, we have millennia-old history, but we must write and learn our history ourselves, instead of allowing others to write our history and deliver us that history.

Now we are not talking about ongoing things, we are talking about being or not being of Armenia or Artsakh. Armenia and Artsakh, by the way, this is very important, they are not just pieces of land, because all the former pieces of land of Armenia still exist on the planet. Armenia is people, it is a status, it is a state, it is a subject of international legal relations. This is what we want. And, yes, there is a lot of aggression around us, that aggression is not just where we see it, that aggression is in many other places. What to do about this aggression? We have to manage that aggression. That aggression must be managed, there is no other option," Pashinyan said.

We demand that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia renounce their current catastrophic position. Announcement of the NA of Artsakh

The Parliament of Artsakh unanimously adopted an announcement in which they consider any other status for Artsakh, except self-determination, unacceptable.

"The current legal and political status of the Republic of Artsakh has been formed by the will of the people as a result of three referendums and the adoption of a constitution based on their results and through a nationwide agreement established in the previous years.

The Armenians of Artsakh are well aware of the price of peace. The statehood of Artsakh, the right to live freely and independently in the historical homeland are absolute values from which even the threat of war cannot keep us.

According to Armenia-Azerbaijan "peace" agenda, any negotiation process to annex Artsakh to Artsakh as well as the signing of the resulting document, undermines not only the statehood of Artsakh, but also the inalienable right of the Armenians of Artsakh to live in their historical homeland.

We demand that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia renounce their current catastrophic position and be guided exclusively by these values. No government has the right to lower the bar of internationally recognized self-determination to a status unacceptable to Artsakh, under the pretext of "peace."

On behalf of the Armenians of Artsakh we apply to

• Armenians all over the world to stand united and resolutely by the brothers and sisters of Armenia and Artsakh in this just struggle.

• our colleagues in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia to not deviate from the decision of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia of July 8, 1992

• the leadership of the Russian Federation. During the peacekeeping mission, it is very important for us that you do not allow anyone to manipulate the problems that arise, as a basis for questioning the further security of the people of Artsakh.

• the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries. Make efforts to maintain the only international mandate for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict regardless of all other disagreements," the announcement reads.

The State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan responded to statements of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made new statements and fake claims over Artsakh on the April 12th at the Government session, Beglaryan wrote on Facebook.

"1. Despite of Aliyev’s statement, the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict has not been settled, and it should be done with international support primarily through unconditional and unlimited realization of right to self-determination of the Artsakh people.

2. In addition to legal and historical sufficient basis, the genocidal policy against Armenians and systemic policy of Armenophobia by Azerbaijan especially in the recent 34 years are additional reasons to say that Artsakh cannot be a part of Azerbaijan with any status.

3. The armed forces of Artsakh have never shot at the direction of Khachen reservoir and Akna (Aghdam) from Parukh and Qaraglukh, and if Aliyev has contrary evidence, he can publish it. Instead, prior to the Parukh occupation the Azerbaijani side were provocating firing with mortars at civilian communities.

4. It is not a “good will” to deliberately explode the gas pipeline and then restore it with delays."

Other News

• Çavuşoğlu informed about the meeting place of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey

• PM Pashinyan receives the French Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Brice Roquefeuil

• Peace agenda has broad public consensus, says MP Lena Nazaryan |armenpress.am|