The authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic will continue their efforts aimed at the international recognition, State Minister of Artsakh Artak Beglaryan said in an interview with the Russian RIA Novosti news agency.
“We will continue making efforts for the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh. After the international recognition of the independence of Artsakh it also will be possible to consider the issue of the republic joining Armenia,” the State Minister said.
He said that at this moment Azerbaijan “feels strong” because it is receiving a military-political support from Turkey.
Therefore, he added, the Artsakh authorities seek ways to “gradually” solve their issues, and later through direct negotiations with Azerbaijan. According to him, for this Azerbaijan should be ready for peace.
Beglaryan said that discussion are always being held with Armenia over the possibility of the recognition of the Republic of Artsakh.
Beglaryan also told RIA Novosti that dialogue on the settlement Karabakh conflict should not be part of the complicated relations between West and Russia.
He said that Artsakh authorities believe that the European Union should not participate in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and called for the revival of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.
“Taking into consideration the format of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and the effective role of the Russian peacekeeping mission, we think that the Karabakh conflict settlement issue should not become a subject of negotiations for the European Union,” Beglaryan said.
He stressed that dialogue is necessary, but it should not be part of Russia’s complex relations with the West.
He attached great importance to the fact of the presence of the Russian peacekeeping mission in the country. “We think that the peacekeeping mission should stay here for an unlimited time, as the conflict is not settled”, he said.
Beglaryan said that Artsakh authorities want to keep the presence of the Russian peacekeepers in the region as Azerbaijan is not ready for negotiations based on the three main principles proposed by international mediators—territorial integrity, the nations’ right to self-determination and the non-use of force and threat of force.
“Currently there is a strong need for the presence of the Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh,” he said, adding that the Karabakh conflict settlement in the foreseeable future is impossible because there is a serious contradiction in the positions of Artsakh and Azerbaijan. “They are diametrically opposed,” he said.
He called for an increase in the numbers of the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh and proposed that their scope of authority be expanded, citing the war and Azerbaijan’s continued military provocations.
Beglaryan said that for Azerbaijan, Karabakh is a matter of “prestige and ambitions,” but for the residents of Artsakh, “it is a matter of life and death, their existence and historical justice.”
