[Armenian News note: the below is translated from Armenian]
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Russia has the "levers" to prevent a resumption of war between Baku and Yerevan.
Pashinyan was speaking at a news conference for Armenian journalists in Yerevan on 20 July. The news conference was carried live by Armenian Public TV.
Pashinyan also said that Azerbaijan was not ready to make concessions regarding the Karabakh conflict. He added that he saw no solution to the conflict without Karabakh's involvement in the peace talks.
Baku and Yerevan are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, which, along with seven surrounding districts, came under the control of ethnic Armenian troops in the early 1990s. Peace talks between Baku and Yerevan have been mediated by France, Russia and the United States in their capacity as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. The breakaway region is not a party to the talks.
Russia has the "levers"
"I think we all understand that as a super power the Russian Federation is capable of not letting war resume in our region. I cannot believe that Russia, which is Armenia's strategic partner and friend, will fail to use its levers to not let hostilities resume in the region," he said.
Pashinyan said that the situation on the border with Azerbaijan was tense, as was the military and political situation in general. He said that the threat of war existed and Armenia had to be prepared for war. At the same time, he expressed belief that Russia would not allow a new war to break out in the region. "I cannot believe that Russia will allow a war or that Russia will fail to use its levers to hold Azerbaijan back from provocation," he said.
Mutual concessions
Pashinyan said that it was wrong to talk about the resolution of the Karabakh conflict based on the idea of ceding territories around Karabakh to Azerbaijan in exchange for its status.
"Has anyone asked whether this solution is acceptable for Azerbaijan or not? … When we are saying mutual concessions, it means that there are two sides that are ready for concessions. I want to understand why we want to discuss our readiness to go for concessions if it is obvious that Azerbaijan is not ready to go for concessions," he said.
Pashinyan said that not only the government but the entire nation would decide on the "limits" of mutual concessions "if we get a message that Azerbaijan is ready for concessions".
"I rule out any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that will not be acceptable for our people," he said.
Pashinyan said there could not be any government in Armenia that would solve the issue in this way. He stressed that one of the important goals of his government was to ensure public involvement in the making of state decisions.
Pashinyan reiterated that there could be no solution to the conflict without Karabakh's direct participation in the peace talks.
"If we are talking about the final resolution of the Artsakh [Karabakh] issue, then Artsakh must be involved," he said.
Pashinyan said he was ready to hold discussions with the Azerbaijani president, which might be "useful" toward creating an atmosphere of trust. At the same time, he said that Azerbaijan's continuous "militant and aggressive" rhetoric was unacceptable.
Pashinyan argued that Azerbaijan's "increased aggressive behaviour" was due to its leadership's concern that democratic processes might move from Armenia to Azerbaijan.
Meeting with first president
Pashinyan also said that he had discussed the Karabakh conflict settlement with first Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan at the latter's initiative. He said Ter-Petrosyan wanted to provide him with information that he thought he might not possess.
Pashinyan said the conversation was "very useful" but that he learnt no new information since he was well-informed about all processes regarding Karabakh from the very first day he took office as prime minister on 8 May.