Armenia's stance on Karabakh conforms to current situation - Pashinyan
YEREVAN. March 6 (Interfax) - Armenia's stance on the Karabakh settlement has not changed and conforms to the existing situation, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
"There is an opinion that Armenia is tightening its position in the negotiating process. However, the stance of the government has not changed because from the very start we said that we would conform to the situation," Pashinyan said answering questions from deputies in parliament.
He reminded them of his statement that the solution of the Karabakh conflict should be acceptable for the peoples of Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan.
"You realize that it was not easy to make the statement. It was made to create a normal negotiating atmosphere. Armenia took the first step hoping for a similar statement by Azerbaijan. But, unfortunately, such a statement did not follow," Pashinyan said. "On the contrary, Azerbaijan speaks of the possibility and readiness to settle the conflict by using force. Statements are made that indicate that the Azerbaijani authorities don't think of the possibility of a settlement option that could also be acceptable for the peoples of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh," he said.
"So we remain adequate to the current situation. This is our stance," the Armenian prime minister said.
He also said that effective talks require an effective format of discussion. "Such a format exists. It was recognized by the international community back in 1994 when Nagorno Karabakh was recognized as a side to the talks. We are bending efforts for the full-fledged functioning of the format in the framework of the OSCE Minsk group, of course," Pashinyan said.
He said he doesn't understand what the readiness of the Azerbaijani side to grant Karabakh high-level autonomy means.
"The people of Karabakh has the right to self-determination and should use this right," Pashinyan said.