YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict continues to prevail in our foreign policy agenda, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in his statement at the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

“The status and security of the Republic of Artsakh is an absolute priority of the Republic of Armenia in the negotiation process. Any attempt to resolve the conflict through military means represents a direct threat to the regional security, democracy and human rights. Armenia will continue its constructive engagement in the peaceful resolution of the conflict within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which has the only internationally recognized mandate to deal with the conflict Azerbaijan should change its behavior of disrespect towards the negotiations and abandon the idea of any military solution and implement all the previous agreements,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that if Azerbaijan is truly committed to the peace process it should start negotiating with the main subject of this conflict - Nagorno-Karabakh itself.

“Azerbaijan declares on every occasion that Karabakh should be a part of its territory. At the same time it announces that it will not negotiate with Nagorno Karabakh. The question is how Azerbaijan can make a claim over Nagorno-Karabakh without even speaking to NK? Is that possible? This is possible only if Azerbaijani government wants the territory and not the people. Thus, it becomes obvious that the intention of Azerbaijani leadership is to cleanse Armenians from Karabakh, like they did in Nakhijevan. This entitles Nagorno-Karabakh to make the argument, that to be a part of Azerbaijan for Karabakh means to be totally exterminated. Hence Karabakh must not be a part of Azerbaijan, unless one wants to trigger a new genocide of Armenian people. Summing up, let me reiterate: the conflict can and should be settled only through mutual compromises by all sides, in an atmosphere conducive to peace and not war. 

The Armenian PM also expressed satisfaction to the Secretary General of the United Nations for his unwavering support to the efforts and approaches of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan