Yerevan: Today there is a question of de-occupation of the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Azerbaijan
ArmInfo.Armenia has always been in favor of changing the status quo in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan stated this in a conversation with ArmInfo correspondent, referring to the accusations of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev against Armenia about the unwillingness to change the status quo.
He recalled that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group made specific proposals aimed at changing the status quo. "And the side that not only does not accept these proposals, but also does everything to torpedo the negotiation process and all the agreements reached, including during the meetings with Aliev's participation, is responsible for the immutability of the status quo. And you do not need to be a successful expert or a political scientist to understand this logical connection, "the spokesman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.
Commenting on Aliyev's statement that Armenia only mimics the negotiation process, Balayan called for logic and analysis of the current situation.
At the same time, referring to the package settlement of the Karabakh conflict and Aliyev's allegations that the first step in this direction should be de-occupation of "Azerbaijani territories", Balayan recalled that the package settlement of the conflict is a principled position not only of Yerevan, but also of countries- mediators and the entire international community.
Answering the question whether it is worth expecting positive progress in the negotiation process after the electoral processes in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Balayan stressed that official Yerevan never linked progress in the negotiations with elections. According to him, the time-out that Azerbaijan took is not aimed at preparing its society for compromises and concessions, but for voicing territorial claims not only to Nagorno-Karabakh, but also to Armenia and its capital, which has a 2800-year history. "If the Azerbaijani side has sincere intentions to make progress in the negotiation process, the elections are not a hindrance. Moreover, no one has any doubt about what the results of this event will be called "elections". Let's see how the assessment of this so-called election will be given by international observers, "Balayan concluded.