Armenian Foreign Ministry Puts Forward Thesis of Refusing Maximalist Requirements

Baku/13.05.20/Turan: Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan made a lengthy speech at the meeting of the Council of CIS Foreign Ministers, in the final part of which he answered the latest statement by the Azerbaijani colleague on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The meeting was held in a video conference format on May 12. The next meeting of the CIS Ministerial Council is scheduled for October 2020, in Tashkent.

In most of the speech, Mnatsakanyan congratulated the participants on the 75th anniversary of the victory of the USSR over Germany, reported on the difficult situation with the pandemic in Armenia and evaluated plans for cooperation in the CIS.

In conclusion, Mnatsakanyan responded to a question raised by the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister E. Mamedyarov. Mnatsakanyan said:

“I don’t intend to talk about this for a long time; we continue to work very intensively in this format. There is no alternative to a peaceful settlement, we are focused on practical work, we have been doing this practical work for two years and we intend to continue. Threats by force and use of force are rejected, and these accents that I heard today are categorically rejected.

The resolution of this conflict is based on the principle of compromise: this also means denying the maximalist positions of either side, and comparing the obligations that all parties assume to achieve a balanced, lasting compromise.

With this attitude, we will continue to work within the framework of the peace process with the intentions of achieving an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

He did not explain what the rejection of the maximalist positions of Armenia is. In the Armenian press, this passage of the Armenian Foreign Ministry is explained as the refusal of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia to unite in one state. They believe that the existence of an independent "Artsakh state" in the occupied Azerbaijani land of Baku should be taken as a compromise from the Armenian side.

Mnatsakanyan’s speech was a response to a speech by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who also participated in a virtual meeting of the CIS Ministerial Council.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict does not allow to fully and effectively realize the integration potential within the Commonwealth and is the main obstacle to closer interaction of the CIS member states in countering new challenges and threats. Moreover, the realities prevailing in the world today require effective interaction and coordination of efforts of all states in relation to new challenges, threats to stability and security.

Azerbaijan is committed to an early political settlement of the conflict. Along with this, negotiations cannot continue forever and should not serve to continue and maintain the situation that arose as a result of the use of force, occupation and ethnic cleansing," Mammadyarov said.

He recalled the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the Helsinki Final Act and the Charter of Paris, assuring that Azerbaijan has the right to restore territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders.

"The speedy settlement of conflicts on the basis of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of state borders will certainly contribute to regional and international security, social progress and strengthen economic cooperation in the region," Mammadyarov summed up his statement. —0—