On March 1, with the mediation of the commander of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation in Artsakh, a regular meeting of the representatives of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan was held.
 
 During the meeting, humanitarian issues were discussed in the context of the need for the immediate opening of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan.  With the mediation of the Russian peacekeeping troops, such meetings between the representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan at different levels were held many times for the purpose of discussing technical, humanitarian and infrastructural issues.
 
 The participants of the meeting did not discuss issues related to the political status of the Republic of Artsakh.  According to the results of the meeting, the comments made by the Azerbaijani side do not correspond to reality.
 
 The Republic of Artsakh remains committed to the choice of the path of self-determination and independence of its people, which was fixed in 1991.  during the referendum.
 
 Similar discussions organized for the purpose of solving urgent issues, in particular, the lifting of the blockade of Artsakh, cannot replace full-fledged peace negotiations, which are necessary for the comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict.  We proceed from the need to restore the international mediation format as an important guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process.
 
 We emphasize once again that the position of the Republic of Artsakh that the results of the illegal use of force and the threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot be a starting point for the establishment of peace, stability and security remains unchanged.