Monday, July 6 2020 17:29

ArmInfo. Yerevan and Stepanakert  are working closely together to ensure coordination, and in the case  of Artsakh, to strengthen a sense of participation in the  negotiations and the peace process.  Foreign Minister of Armenia  Zohrab Mnatsakanyan in an interview with Artsakh public television  touching on the issue that the visits of the Armenian minister to  Stepanakert after negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk  Group have already become a tradition.

"It is very important for us to compare and evaluate the fundamental  approaches expressed by the Artsakh authorities and which are based  on the mandate given by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh," the Armenian  minister said, recalling that the Artsakh authorities are endowed  with the mandate given by the Artsakh people, and the Armenian  authorities - with the given Armenian people.

On clarification, does this mean that plans to return Artsakh to the  negotiating table are unchanged, the Armenian Foreign Minister  stressed that this is an important and fundamental issue for Yerevan.

"If we really focus on an effective negotiation process, from the  point of view of ensuring the direct effectiveness of this process,  Artsakh's participation is a practical task. This in no way reduces  Armenia's responsibility and obligations in this process, but  provides much more clear effectiveness for real progress in peace  process, "Mnatsakanyan assured.

At the same time, agreeing to the protracted nature of the conflict,  the Armenian minister positively assessed the fact that, despite  this, both Armenia and Artsakh were committed to its exclusively  peaceful resolution, eliminating any new threat to the security of  the people of Artsakh.

Recalling the constant threats emanating from Azerbaijan, manifested  in Armenian-phobic politics, maximalism, maximalist approaches in the  negotiation process, and its more extreme manifestation, which the  international community witnessed in April 2016, the Armenian Foreign  Minister emphasized that all this is a constant reminder of that the  threat is real, it exists.  "The dominance of the security component  is more than expressed, regardless of what period it refers to.  The  threat, unfortunately, remains an extremely obvious factor. And for  us security is one of the priority tasks. At the same time, for us,  Artsakh's right to self-determination and the right to a free life is  among the key priorities. In this context, we will continue to work  within the framework of the peace process, continue negotiations with  the opposite side under the auspices of the co-chairs, "the minister  added.

Touching upon the issue of international isolation of the people of  Artsakh, Mnatsakanyan indicated the unacceptability and injustice of  isolation, the denial of rights for this people. At the same time, he  stated that people in Artsakh exercise their numerous rights - from  basic, fundamental human rights, the right to life, up to the right  to live peacefully, the realization of personal, socio-economic  rights.

"And regardless of status, regardless of the reality in which it is  expressed in international relations, the people consist of real  individuals, and these real individuals cannot be rejected in any way  from the point of view in the context of realizing these rights. For  us, this is a matter of principle, and we continue to solve this  problem on various international platforms, raise this problem and  seek a solution to this issue, "said the head of the Armenian Foreign  Ministry.  At the same time, he emphasized that during the  negotiation process there cannot be a situation where the security of  the people of Artsakh, the security of the person living in Artsakh,  and the manifestations of fundamental rights - strting from  protecting the right to life to ensuring the expression of the right  to collective self determination.

In conclusion, Mnatsakanyan added that the recent republican  elections in Nagorno-Karabakh are vivid evidence that the people of  Artsakh are realizing their right to self-determination with all  seriousness and responsibility, on the basis of democratic principles  and norms.