“Armenia and Artsakh are  not against the step-by-step solution of theteh Karabaakh conflict,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said.

The comments come after Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar mammadyarov’s stateemnt regarding the step-by-step solution.

Shavarsh Kocharyan stressed, that “within that framework Azerbaijan should first of all recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, return the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh and start negotiations with the NKR on the clarification of borders.”