Pashinyan presents details of negotiations during 2020 war

YEREVAN, APRIL 14, ARMENPRESS. During and before the 2020 war, the Azerbaijani leadership was refusing to discuss as an agenda item the issue of Nagorno Karabakh’s status, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in parliament on April 14, presenting the wartime developments, namely on October 19 and after that.

“Much has been speculated on what’d happened on October 19 and after that. By having analyzed the situation and consulting with the president of Artsakh and the Chief of the General Staff of the military, I’d decided that we must achieve a ceasefire even through certain difficult concessions. On that occasion I’d convened a security council meeting, which was also attended by representatives of parliamentary factions. The session was attended by the President and the Catholicos. On the same day, I invited the representatives of the non-parliamentary opposition and again informed them about the ongoing developments,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan says that after that, as it was agreed, he phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin – who was mediating - and said that Armenia wants a ceasefire with Azerbaijan with the condition of returning the territories under the 5+2 format.

“A condition that even in the past was put forward to Armenia by the mediators in the most various formats. We had a common understanding with the Russian President. We noted with the Russian President that we have a common [understanding] on overcoming the situation. You know that there was an issue of return of refugees, there was an issue of the return of Azerbaijani displaced persons to NK, I had said that we wouldn’t have any objections in principle if we somehow interconnect this issue with the process of determining the status of NK. The Russian President then had a phone conversation with the Azerbaijani President, as a result of which it became clear that the Azerbaijani side is unequivocally against our demand for the de-occupation of the Hadrut region. Secondly, the Azerbaijani side was demanding the issue of return of displaced persons, including to Shushi, not be tied with the determination of the status. There was also an [indication] that they want the return of territories not under the 5+2 formula but 7 [at once],” Pashinyan said, adding that this was said as a hint for the event of Armenia having agreed on terms put forward before that.

“Azerbaijan, just like before the war, and during it, refused to discuss in a status of an agenda item the issue of Nagorno Karabakh’s status,” Pashinyan said.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan