We are not fascists and we are not racists to say that the parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh must consist only of Armenians, the third president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said this in an exclusive interview, countering arguments by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that if elections were held in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijanis participated in them too and were elected, it means that Artsakh would not be purely Armenian.

“Are there only Armenians elected in the Armenian National Assembly today? What does it all mean? If this is yet another manipulation, it’s a failed one. If this is – what can I say – an issue about lack of knowledge, then it’s ridiculous. What I am saying is, of course, also a message to the international community, because the very same co-chairmen, even after the disastrous war still were speaking about the basic principles,” he said.

In response to a comment that it had been a long time since the co-chairs had spoken, Serzh Sargsyan said, “It’s been a while because no one is speaking about that any more. Have you come across any clear answer by the incumbent Armenian officials about the future of the Karabakh issue? The most they do is making references to their government program adopted still before or maybe after the war. Why is that the case? Are they shy? Are they afraid? Or, as they say, they have some verbal agreements that impede making such statements?”