The Artsakh-Azerbaijan conflict has recently entered a new stage, Vice President of the Armenian National Assembly says.
“Ignoring all agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg, as well as all international commitments, Azerbaijan periodically escalates the situation at the line of contact, undertakes infiltration attempts,” Vice-President of the National Assembly Edward Sharmazanov told reporters today.
“The recent developments show that the Azerbaijani leadership has drawn lessons from Hitler Germany and uses its own population as a human shield,” he said.
Speaking about the meeting between Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers in Brussels on July 11, Sharmazanov emphasized three important points.
“The Co-Chairs once again reiterate the imperative of solving the conflict exceptionally through peaceful negotiations. Second, the Armenian side reiterates its stance that progress in negotiations is impossible unless the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg are called to life. Third, Azerbaijan continues its non-constructive policy by refusing to implement the agreements,” he said.
Sharmnazanov believes Armenia should remain committed to its ‘harsh stance.’ “President Serzh Sargsyan clearly stated at the National Assembly on May 18 that the security of the people of Artsakh is the utmost objective. Second, he emphasized that the Karabakh issue should be solved through the free _expression_ of will of the people of Artsakh,” the Vice-Speaker said.
He noted that “on the other hand, the international community, the co-chairing countries should seek ways for persuading or pressuring Azerbaijan to implement the agreements.”
“Azerbaijan wanted to establish a new status quo after the April military actions, to start negotiations from the scratch, but failed to do so,” Edward Sharmazanov said. According to him, the meetings in Vienna and St. Petersburg were a failure of Azerbaijani diplomacy.
He called attention to the statements of the Russian Foreign Ministry, urging Baku to stop discrimination against Russian citizens with Armenian surnames. “This is not now, but what’s important is that the statement is being made in the wake of June escalation at the line of contact, which could mean the Russian Azerbaijani relations are entering an unfavorable stage.”
Edward Sharmazanov believes the Karabakh issue should be solved exceptionally in a peaceful way on the basis of the three principles of international law, where the full realization of the Artsakh people’s right to self-determination should be the key point. He stressed that Artsakh has nothing to do with Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. “Artsakh has not been part of independent Azerbaijan at least for a second,” he stressed.
The Vice-Speaker rules out the possibility of a large-scale war. According to him, the Trump-Putin meeting showed that the superpowers will not allow a new hotspot next to Syria.