Security guarantees and status of Artsakh should be a subject of negotiations – Armenian PM

Public Radio of Armenia
April 7 2022

Guarantees of the security of the people of Artsakh, protection of their rights and freedoms, as well as the clarification of the final status of Nagorno Karabakh are included in Armenia’s answers to Azerbaijan’s proposals and should be the subject of negotiations, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the government sitting today.

“Of course, as before, we consider the involvement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs essential in this process, and we must continue to work in that direction,” the Prime Minister said, briefing the cabinet on the results of the Brussels meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the EU Council Charles Michel.

“Naturally, there was a discussion about the deterioration of the security environment in Nagorno Karabakh, particularly the events in Parukh, but those discussions did not lead to a joint assessment of the situation. I must also say that I did not consider the further discussion of this particular topic appropriate in the Brussels platform, because it is about the intrusion of Azerbaijani units into the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno Karabakh. Therefore, the issue should rather be discussed with the participation of the partners from the Russian Federation, and we are going to do that,” PM Pashinyan said.

“We expect that the peacekeepers of the Russian Federation in Nagorno Karabakh will take measures to ensure the withdrawal of Azerbaijani units from their area of responsibility,” he added.