Khankendi rejects Baku's invitation for talks

Baku/14.03.23/Turan: Karabakh Armenians have rejected an invitation from the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration yesterday to hold a meeting in Baku in the coming days to continue contacts on reintegration and to discuss the implementation of infrastructure projects in Karabakh.

It should be remembered that the first meeting took place a few days ago and dealt with current issues related to the operation of the mine. Soon after the meeting, the head of the Karabakh Armenian community Araik Harutyunyan made a harsh statement reiterating that there would never be a return of the residents of the Karabakh Armenian-populated territory controlled by the RPC to Azerbaijan.

Negotiations will only be possible as equal parties," said David Babayan, adviser to the so-called "president" of the Karabakh separatists and former "minister of the IM  David Babayan.

"Negotiations can only take place between equal parties, with the participation of international mediators represented by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. The format - Artsakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia - was fixed back in 1994," Babayan explained, responding to an invitation from the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan to Karabakh Armenians to come to Baku for talks.

Babayan also demands that Baku abide by the rules applicable to equal states.

"There is an internationally accepted form of behaviour. An invitation to negotiations is not conveyed through the media, unless of course one is determined to negotiate rather than make a show of it. The letter should be transmitted through intermediaries or directly, but not through the media. And thirdly, we remind Baku that there is no 'Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian community'. The Nagorny Karabakh Republic is a state, albeit an unrecognised one. And for Azerbaijan the non-recognition is not an obstacle at all, as shown by its ties with the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Taiwan," Babayan said.-0-