Obviously, the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided without its participation. President of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic), Bako Sahakyan, on Friday stated this at the opening of the “Cooperation for Justice and Peace” Forum of Artsakh Friends, in capital city Stepanakert.
The Artsakh President noted that this is the pioneering pro-Artsakh forum, which has brought together political, public, cultural figures, human rights advocates, scientists, analysts, and journalists from various countries, and who support Artsakh. He added that here there were members of the friendship groups and circles with Artsakh, representatives of administrative units and political forces having recognized the independence of the Artsakh Republic, or have been cooperating with it.
“Remaining true to the democratic principles and humanitarian values, you have spared no effort supporting Artsakh for years, raising awareness about and rendering objective information on our country on diverse international platforms, carrying out activities towards the development of bilateral relations and the implementation of multifaceted programs in Artsakh,” Sahakyan said. “We are grateful to you for all the painstaking work you carry out, we highly appreciate your pursuits and are glad to have friends like you.”
In his words, the discussion points on the forum agenda touch upon virtually all the domains of Artsakh’s activities and, in this context, it is crucial to present once again the vision of Artsakh’s state-building process.
“The full-fledged security of Artsakh in all the dimensions is a must for us,” the President said. “Even the slightest decline in our security will tempt our opponents to launch a new aggression which itself is full of unpredictable consequences. For this very reason security issues are top priority in the negotiation process, too.
“I would like to reaffirm our commitment to peaceful settlement of relations with Azerbaijan around the negotiating table under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. It should be mentioned that it is impossible to achieve real progress without the restoration of the full-fledged negotiation format with the direct participation of Artsakh. Obviously, the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided without its participation, and there is no return to the past, both with respect to status and borders.”
The President of Artsakh recalled that the principles of balanced and multi-vectored approach remain at the root of the Artsakh foreign policy.
“Maintaining equally good-neighborly relations with Europe, the USA, Russia as well as regional states is a foreign strategy imperative for us,” he added.
In his words, in its foreign policy realm Stepanakert will continue placing special emphasis on forging and enhancing relations with various countries and states and their administrative units.
Among the priority issues Bako Sahakyan noted the close cooperation between Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora
“We have lot more work to do and diverse issues to solve, however, they are very much realistic,” the President of Artsakh concluded. “I am confident that we will succeed in solving them efficiently.”