Any solution to NK conflict must get Armenia, Artsakh people’s approval, reaffirms Pashinyan

ArmenPress, Armenia
Oct 27 2018
Any solution to NK conflict must get Armenia, Artsakh people's approval, reaffirms Pashinyan


YEREVAN, OCTOBER 27, ARMENPRESS. There cannot be any solution in the Nagorno Karabakh (NK) conflict settlement that wouldn’t be acceptable for the peoples of Armenia and Artsakh and the government of Artsakh, acting PM Nikol Pashinyan told reporters – addressing a recent statement by US National Security Advisor John Bolton who said that the victory of Pashinyan’s political force in the upcoming early elections of parliament in Armenia would be a good opportunity for taking action in the direction of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

“You know, everyone speaks on their own behalf. John Bolton speaks on his own behalf, and John Bolton or generally anyone can’t speak on my behalf. It would give opportunities, but let me say that there can’t be a solution that wouldn’t be acceptable for the people of Armenia, Artsakh and the government of Artsakh”, Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that certain people are organizing “mini storms” regarding the NK issue online, once again stressing that there can’t be a solution that wouldn’t be acceptable for the people of Armenia and Artsakh.

“In terms of a global settlement of the issue it is clear that any solution should also be acceptable for the people of Azerbaijan. We must be public in the event of any solution. People are still guided by the old habits. Like they used to decide behind the scenes and attempt to do something behind the back of the people, we won’t have this kind of a conduct, because I don’t know how they considered it in the past, but I don’t think that the one to solve the Nagorno Karabakh issue is any government or me, or any prime minister. The one to solve or not solve the Karabakh issue are the Armenian people, and specifically the people of Armenia, the people of Artsakh and in this case also the Diaspora, because this is a Pan-Armenian issue. They are moving with the logic that they had privatized the Karabakh issue, and now they are attempting to privatize it to me, without asking my opinion. Don’t privatize, because I am not the solver of the Karabakh issue, because the solver of this issue are the Armenian people”, Pashinyan emphasized.

Speaking about a question about the Vienna and St. Petersburg agreements, Pashinyan stressed that he speaks about these agreements during any meeting. “But, unlike the previous government, we succeeded in very rapidly making concrete steps and achieve concrete agreements, including in the direction of more or less maintaining the ceasefire state, now are they pleased or displeased over this?”, he said.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan