YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The purpose of the upcoming regional visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs must be the meeting with the authorities of Artsakh, especially when there are discussions over resuming negotiations, rather negotiations themselves, political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told a press conference.

“These discussions cannot advance without Artsakh’s participation, which means that the negotiations process also cannot advance without Artsakh. It’s not true when they say that Artsakh has been left out of the negotiations process. Artsakh is participating in the discussions in the Armenia-Artsakh and Artsakh-OSCE Minsk Group formats. It is only the Artsakh-Azerbaijan contact that doesn’t exist”, he said.

Commenting on the upcoming CSTO military exercises in Armenia on October 6, where for the first time the Armenian-Russian unified troops will participate, Melik-Shahnazaryan said:

“Any kind of deepening of relations between Armenia and Russia is perceived by Azerbaijan as a verdict aimed at its society. In Azerbaijan they try not to notice things which will intimidate the Azerbaijani society. That’s why the Azerbaijani propaganda machine is covering up this fact”, he said.