14:16, 23 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh announced Thursday that a direct negotiations process with Azerbaijan would be possible only in an international format and in conditions of guarantees for implementation of obligations.

Nagorno Karabakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan said at a press conference that Russia-mediated meetings have taken place between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan pertaining to various humanitarian and technical issues. Ghazaryan underscored that Azerbaijan attempted to distort the agenda of the latest meeting.

The goal of that meeting was to discuss issues relating to the disruptions of the electricity and gas supplies, he said. “The attempts by Azerbaijan to distort the agenda of the meeting are unacceptable. But at the same time, we stand ready to have meetings in the same format, with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, for the solution of the abovementioned issues,” Ghazaryan said when asked in which case the meetings could become negotiations.

Speaking about a full negotiations process, the FM said: “We’ve numerously said that such meetings can only take place in an international format. The substantiations are rather clear.”

Ghazaryan noted that if Azerbaijan even violated the agreements reached in the OSCE Minsk Group talks, then it would definitely violate bilateral agreements as well.

“Only under an international format, and guarantees of implementation of obligations must be the most important component of such a process,” Ghazaryan added.