Wednesday, September 16 2020 18:32

ArmInfo.. As of today, there is no need to talk about a meeting between the foreign  ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, since such a meeting is not  planned. On September 16, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated  this from the rostrum of the National Assembly, answering the  question of  MP of the Armenian parliament Arman Babajanyan.

According to the Prime Minister, discussions are underway about the  possibility of a meeting. The head of the Armenian government noted  the constructive nature of the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-  chairs, which corresponds to the ideas of the Armenian side about the  need to resume the negotiation process on the settlement of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. As Nikol Pashinyan noted, the Armenian  side has its own principles on the negotiation process, which were  previously voiced. At the same time, the Armenian side does not  consider these principles a precondition for the resumption of  negotiations.  Another issue is that Baku comes out with a  precondition according to which Karabakh should be perceived as part  of the territory of Azerbaijan. In this context, the Prime Minister  continued, the statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs should be  perceived as logical and constructive.  He noted that the negotiation  process after the July clashes is no different from before the July  ones. Before the July events, Azerbaijan constantly made bellicose  statements that did not correspond to the logic of the negotiation  process. 

The position of the international community is clear and  understandable: the Karabakh issue should be resolved exclusively by  peaceful means through negotiations. The July events showed that one  cannot speak the language of force with Armenia and Artsakh.   "Earlier, Azerbaijan has repeatedly stated that it is capable of  solving the Artsakh issue within 24 hours. It turns out that  Azerbaijan was wrong, and we are right, "said the head of the  Armenian government.  To recall, the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group are  Ambassadors Igor Popov of (Russia) ; Stephane Visconti ( France); and  Andrew Schofer (USA), as well as the personal representative of the  OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk held intensive consultations  on September 14 in Paris. According to the OSCE, the Co-Chairs  discussed the situation in the region, focusing on further  developments after the escalation of violence on the  Armenian-Azerbaijani border in mid-July.  

The mediators discussed in detail and assessed the private and public  messages and concerns of the parties, the report says. Kasprzyk  presented the security situation on the ground and the co-chairs  welcomed his concrete preparations for the resumption of monitoring  activities. The mediators held separate telephone conversations with  the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan  and Jeyhun Bayramov, and invited the ministers to personally meet  with them in the coming weeks to further clarify their positions  "with the aim of resuming serious substantive negotiations without  preconditions." "The Co- Chairs, in accordance with their mandate,  the OSCE continues to actively and fully participate in facilitating  the negotiations on a peaceful and comprehensive settlement," the  message says.