Pashinyan: Karabakh Army Not to Be Disbanded

Baku / 16.11.20 / Turan: The trilateral agreement on Karabakh and the introduction of Russian peacekeepers will not affect the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. “The Artsakh army will have the same status as it had. This is the Artsakh Defense Army. The army exists and will continue to exist, it must develop, strengthen and be the guarantor of Artsakh's sovereignty,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Monday in an interview with a number of media outlets.

He also said that it is impossible to change the points of the trilateral agreement with the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on Karabakh. “A change in points will mean a change in the military situation. Today it is unrealistic,” he said and noted that the document contains provisions that require comments and negotiations should be continued.

Referring to the negotiations on a settlement before the outbreak of hostilities, Pashinyan said that in 2018 the negotiation process crossed the point of no return.

“The question was: nothing in return for territory. I tried to disagree with this, but we failed, because we were in a situation where an international consensus was formed on the transfer of territories without preconditions,” he said. At the same time, Pashinyan stated that he bears personal responsibility for what happened.

Referring to the military losses, Pashinyan announced several hundred missing Armenian servicemen. “I will not name the exact figure now, but there are several hundred missing. We hope we will find some of them alive,” he said.

The Prime Minister also noted that the exchange of prisoners of war with Azerbaijan will take place after the completion of the exchange of bodies of the dead.      -02D-