ArmInfo.Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan, and the official Stepanakert has repeatedly spoken about this. This was announced on June 20 at the presentation of the book "The Karabakh conflict and the foreign policy of the Republic of Artsakh" by NKR Foreign Minister David Babayan.
According to him, both the Armenian people and official Yerevan are also well aware of this. "We will stand to the last and never allow our red lines to be crossed," he said.
Touching upon the issue of the future status of Artsakh, Babayan pointed to its complexity. "The Karabakh conflict is one of the most difficult in the world, it can probably be equated to the Palestinian-Israeli one in terms of difficulty. We cannot expect a quick settlement. It will not be possible to reach a settlement in a short time, so you need to be realistic and understand that the final settlement is a task of the distant future," Babayan said, calling in this vein to protect and defend Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to him, there are all possibilities for this. "Consequently, if there is no comprehensive settlement, Artsakh will continue to maintain its status as a de facto independent and sovereign state, and then we'll see," the head of the foreign ministry said.
To clarify whether this issue is being discussed now, Babayan admitted that the issue of status is not being discussed now. The head of the NKR Foreign Ministry noted that of course, they want a speedy settlement of the conflict, but at the same time, the red line for them is that they will have nothing to do with Azerbaijan in this issue in any way or depend on it.
Speaking about the negotiation process, the head of the NKR Foreign Ministry noted that one should remember that "we face a state in which hatred towards Armenians is being planted."
At the same time, he expressed his conviction that the Armenians need to learn a lot from the enemy, who has a very organized approach to many issues. "You know, it is not so easy to take such bold steps. We have lost about 80% of our state. Remember the massacre of 1915. And what, did the Turks and Azerbaijanis repent of something? Do you expect Azerbaijan to change overnight? Especially when they see how certain circles are scourging Russia," he said.
Referring to the statements of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan from the rostrum of the Parliament regarding Artsakh, where the security of the population of Artsakh was indicated as a key factor, and not its status, Babayan noted that he has no idea what any leader of Armenia can think, and even more so take steps to make Artsakh a part of Azerbaijan.
"I don't want to believe in this. As for rights and freedoms, we have no future as part of Azerbaijan. I will give you a good example. The poor fellows kept in the Auschwitz concentration camp , also had "rights and freedoms" – they had the right to sleep – one hour, and the right to walk, were free in their barracks – to roll over from side to side in their beds. These are also "rights and freedoms". But the future in Azerbaijan, is even worse than this," he said, emphasizing that they will continue to preserve their de facto independence.
At the same time, speaking about a comprehensive settlement, Babayan stated that the peace treaty should be signed by Artsakh, Azerbaijan and Armenia, and if something does not suit Baku in this format, then everything will remain as it is now de facto, and de jure it's all a matter of time.
"But, de facto, we do not see ourselves as part of Azerbaijan, what should we negotiate with them about. They closed this page for themselves, and we closed it," the NKR Foreign Minister said, adding that the Armenian authorities have not officially stated that Artsakh should become part of Azerbaijan, and this is not acceptable.
According to him, even if the world says that Artsakh should do this, they will not take this step, they cannot be forced to do so.
"Then it's better to die with dignity in the struggle than to become a slave who is constantly raped," said the head of the Foreign Ministry.
Regarding the lowering of the bar, Babayan noted that what kind of bars are in question, only red lines remained. "We have only one red line left – the status, what levels can we talk about. If we lower the bar, then Azerbaijan is moving forward step by step. We do not see ourselves as part of Azerbaijan. This is a fact," he said, adding that Artsakh society is united in this issue.
At the same time, he urged not to blame anyone for what happened to the Armenian people throughout its history. According to the head of the NKR Foreign Ministry, "Armenians themselves are to blame for all their troubles."