ArmInfo.Artsakh has nothing to "lower". It has the redlines that it will never cross, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan stated at a Facebook conference held by the Azatutyun Radio in response to a question about a need to agree to a lower status for Nagorno-Karabakh.
In response, he said: "And who is the international community? The concept of international community is most sophisticated. One of the members of the international community, Azerbaijan, claims no bars at all exist nor is there a Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Another member of the international community, Armenia, is saying: here is Artsakh. The international has not nor can it have a common opinion on the issue, especially now that the world has entered the era of barefaced geopolitics," Mr Babayan said. The concepts of human rights or democracy are being disregarded, he added.
Some of the western countries are overtly supporting Azerbaijan, others are indifferent and still others are supporting the Armenian side.
In this context, Mr Babayan highlighted the importance of reasonable reckoning and balanced actions in defense of Armenian national interests.
"You see that we have no room for lowering the bar. Why was the international community silent for the 44 days when we were being massacred? We must defend our interests instead of thinking of getting dividends from some states or others. We have nothing to lower, we have redlines. There is no turning back," Mr Babayan said.
He calls for understanding Azerbaijan's nature. Why is Azerbaijan refusing to recognize Artsakh now? It has much more now that it once dreamt of, does it not? This conflict has no solution or a balance of forces is a solution.
The international community is divided. It is not any longer controlled by one or two centers, as it is a multipolar world now.
As to Russia's position, Mr Babayan recalled Russia's explicit statement – a more explicit that the ones by the United States and France (the two other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs). Specifically, Moscow stated that border delimitation and demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan has nothing in common with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is right.
As to the possibility of Artsakh applying for joining Russia, Mr Babayan said Stepanakert's only agenda is retaining Artsakh's statehood and having it recognized.
As to why Artsakh is not joining Armenia, Mr Babayan noted that joining Armenia remains a top priority. "But the rules of geopolitics turn out to be such. Azerbaijan did its best to present the conflict as a territorial one, but we had not the necessary potential to make our voice heard." The world is dominated by geopolitical interests and biased approaches, with "some allowed and others prohibited."
Speaking in Parliament this, Armenia's premier said: "The international community is telling us straightforwardly now: being the world's only country refusing to recognize Turkey's ally Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is a great threat not only to Artsakh, but also to Armenia. The international community is telling us again now: request a lower status for Nagorno-Karabakh, and you will enjoy international unanimity on Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise, we request you not to hope for us not because we are unwilling to help, but because we are unable to."