YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS. The key factor to guarantee the rights and security of Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh is the presence of the Russian peacekeepers there as long as there are no reliable mechanisms and guarantees yet for ensuring the security and rights, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said at the joint session of the parliamentary standing committees.

“During the trilateral negotiations we proposed that a decision be made on extending the mandate of the Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno Karabakh for an indefinite period of time, for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. I must say that, as you all know, that proposal was not approved, but I must note that in my perception the issue became an agenda item. I want to draw the attention of everyone on this fact. According to the trilateral statement of November 9, the term of the peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh is extended automatically. In other words, it can be extended if none of the sides makes an objection six months before the end of the term. So, what’s the proposal? The proposal is the following: to extend the mandate of the peacekeepers and fix that the institute of that objection is not needed, or to overcome that institute of objection and have the presence of the peacekeepers in the long-run”, the PM stated.