US Ambassador Mills Mixed Pashinyan's Karabakh Cards

In an interview with the EVN Report, Mills stated that resolving the Karabakh problem without "returning certain occupied territories" is impossible.

"I was surprised when I first came here and found out that the majority of Armenians I met are against the return of the occupied territories as part of the negotiation process. I am surprised by the fact that there is practically no discussion in Armenia regarding acceptable solutions and compromises. For many years, in the views of my government, these territories were seized in order to be used later according to the formula "status in exchange for territories". I was really amazed that this option no longer enjoys support," said Richard Mills.

He said he understood that the April 2016 war exacerbated these perceptions. "But the cruel reality is that settlement is impossible without the return of certain occupied territories," added the US ambassador, completing his powers. Having interpreted the message of Mills, Yerevan journalists went to local experts and ambassadors of other countries for evaluating the words of a US diplomat.

Responding to a request to comment on Mills"s statement, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacotte told News.am: ​​"The position of France is unchanged. We are saddened by the death of people and we hope for a solution to the conflict through negotiations, in the format of the OSCE Minsk Group." Other ambassadors of the countries of the democratic bloc did not comment on Mills' statement.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, in the person of press secretary Maria Zakharova, expressed angry concern at all points of Mills' farewell speech, in which he expressed delight at the prospect of democracy in Armenia, gave instructions to local civil society, etc., but she ignored the Ambassador"s words about the Karabakh settlement. Although this part of his speech is most of all interested in the Armenian press. According to Zakharova, the speech of Mills was distinguished by "such straightforward directness".

Russia's position on the Karabakh settlement remains the same, Russian Ambassador to Armenia Sergey Kopyrkin told Novosti-Armenia on Tuesday, answering a question about possible changes in the positions of the co-chair countries of the Minsk Group against the backdrop of a statement by US Ambassador Richard Mills.

"Our position remains the same that the settlement should be peaceful, based on the interests of both parties. Currently we see no alternative to the format of the Minsk Group, but, I repeat, the search for solutions is certainly a matter for the parties themselves. Our role is to ensure that stability is maintained, peace is maintained, and that the parties can move towards finding a mutually acceptable solution as successfully as possible," said Kopyrkin.

Armenian media and public figures spoke out sharply against Mills. The post of the Yerevan blogger in Moscow"s "Caucasian Knot" is ironically negative. One of his readers from Armenia was surprised that Mills, it turns out, is so unaware of the Armenian mentality. Other outraged readers opposed the return of any territories to Azerbaijan.

In the Lragir Yerevan website, close to Pashinyan, the ex-ambassador"s statement was cited with displeasure, leaving the alarming message of the diplomat aside, the editorial board issued a statement to Mills as an American statement that it was impossible to return any territories to Azerbaijan. Part of this publication, dangerous for Baku, was the mention of Trump"s policy, expressed in the "keep it as it is" formula, according to which the West, according to the Pashinyan media, is ready to recognize Armenia"s right to occupy Azerbaijani territories.

The words of the former US ambassador to Armenia, Richard Mills, were characterized by the former ombudsman of Armenia and human rights activist, Larisa Alaverdyan, saying that it is necessary to thank Mills for giving him the opportunity to express a position that the authorities of his country cannot announce at the official level. She again came down with harsh criticism of the Madrid principles of the Karabakh settlement, calling them unacceptable.

The official Yerevan noted the position of the United States on Karabakh, voiced by Ambassador Mills, with a strange phrase of the head of the government, N.Pashinyan. He advised to treat the statement of Mills as a statement of "outgoing ambassador," as if they do not know that "there are no former diplomats."

The position of Armenia on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been repeatedly emphasized, and it is reflected in the program of the government of the country, said spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry Anna Naghdalyan, commenting on the statement of the US Ambassador, Richard Mills.