[Armenian News note: the below is translated from the Russian edition of Lragir]
Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has said that the right to self-determination should be a key principle for resolving the conflict.
"We think that the outdated approaches to the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Karabakh must be revised. The three-sided format of the talks must be restored to ensure a direct and full-fledged involvement of the republic of Artsakh [Armenian name of Nagorno-Karabakh]. The right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh should be a key principle for resolving the conflict," the region's foreign minister Masis Mailyan told Armenian news website Lragir.am in an interview on 27 December.
The interview came in response to the Azerbaijani foreign minister, who said earlier this week that Baku is ready to grant Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians a high-level autonomy within Azerbaijan and ensure their security.
"The people of Artsakh chose their road to freedom 30 years ago and implemented their right to self-determination, and they did it perfectly from the legal point of view," he said.
Mailyan went on to say that it is not a territorial dispute but a conflict between Karabakh seeking independence and Azerbaijan and "it is futile… to look for solutions on the basis of territorial concessions [reference to seven districts around Karabakh currently controlled by Armenian forces]". He said that Baku has no "moral rights" to offer security guarantees to Karabakh after Azerbaijan "made two fruitless attempts to seize and destroy" the breakaway region. He accused Baku of beefing up its military, inciting hatred against Armenians in Azerbaijan and making attempts to isolate Karabakh.
Mailyan described the self-styled Nagorno-Karabakh republic as a "provider of security" which "contributes to maintaining regional stability".
He downplayed the importance of the four UN resolutions regarding the Karabakh conflict, saying that they were passed in the 1990s when there were hostilities and were not mandatory.