Artsakh resident block the road connecting Askeran to Aghdam on Jul. 18 (Facebook photo by Arshak Abrahamyan)

A day after Baku reportedly canceled a planned Western-mediated talk with Artsakh representatives, official Stepanakert reiterated its willingness to hold discussions with Azerbaijan with an “agreed international format.”

The Artsakh Foreign Ministry told Armenpress on Tuesday that it would be “inappropriate” to comment about the talks that were scheduled to take place on Tuesday in Bratislava, Slovakia, because it was Azerbaijan that opted to cancel the meeting.

Official Baku has not provided an explanation for pulling out from the meeting.

“We would like to emphasize that the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have always been open to discussing reasonable proposals aimed at facilitating dialogue between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan,” said the Artsakh Foreign Ministry, adding that Stepanakert, for its part, 
“has consistently put forward initiatives and proposals aimed at arranging meetings between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with the involvement of mediators.”

The foreign ministry said that Artsakh believes that dialogue would be successful only when there is “sincere willingness and good faith of both parties to resolve their differences.”

“There is such willingness on our part,” said the Artsakh foreign ministry. “If the Azerbaijani side also demonstrates the same willingness, this will pave the way for the beginning of the dialogue.”

Official Stepanakert emphasized, as it has done in the past, that dialogue between Artsakh and Azerbaijan “must take place within an agreed international format, supported by an appropriate mandate.”

“This approach will facilitate increased engagement by the international community in the negotiation process, bolster legitimacy and sustainability of the process, and ensure reliable guarantees for the implementation of potential agreements between the parties,” the Artsakh foreign ministry said.

In announcing the cancelation of the Tuesday talks, Tirgan Petrosyan, Artsakh’s anti-crisis task force director said that the Azerbaijani side wants such talks to be held in Baku or another Azerbaijani city, something which is unacceptable to Artsakh’s leadership. Western mediators will visit Yerevan in the coming days to discuss the issue with Karabakh officials, he added without elaborating.