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Baku in the person of spokesperson for Azerbaijani President Novruz Mamedov has lately made an unsuccessful attempt to put into circulation propositions misinforming society about the course of the Karabakh conflict settlement and Azerbaijan’s achievements on the international arena. Panorama.am asked Artak Apitonyan, head of the Department of External Relations of RA President's Administration, to comment on this situation.

“First, it is important to stress that the Artsakh Republic (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic: editor) has not been yet recognized by the Republic of Armenia, which is the most serious compromise by the Armenian side for the sake of the negotiated settlement of the conflict. This fact, for its part, was highly appreciated by the international community and that part of the civilized world which is interested in peaceful settlement of the conflict,” said Apitonyan.

The head of the Department of External Relations of RA President's Administration also called attention to the fact that things have started moving in NKR’s recognition, which is confirmed by both official documents adopted still only on the level of regions and swiftly growing number of visits of foreign politicians to Artsakh.

According to him, the international community in fact sends a “message” to Azerbaijan that the “status quo” will not work for Azerbaijan and should Azerbaijan undertake a military adventure, Artsakh will be formally recognized not only by the Republic of Armenia but also internationally. Apitonyan stressed that the Azerbaijani President’s Administration should understand this, however, the adequacy of Baku’s perception of the situation remains in doubt given recent publications in Azerbaijani media on the beginning of collection of signatures under petition in the name of President Serzh Sargsyan, which duplicated the very propositions of Azeri propaganda that have been refuted long ago.

This is especially evident in Mamedov’s statements on the imaginary success or growth of Azerbaijan’s authority on the international arena. “Within several months of the current year only, Azerbaijan managed to become a target of international criticism for three times, making headlines in top media outlets and becoming a subject of reports by international human rights organizations first in connection with corruption scandals and Eurovision and later in connection with the heroization of murderer Ramil Safarov, and now also in connection with scandals over the statues of its late leader Heydar Aliyev in different countries of the world. Baku has a strange idea of success and authority on the international arena,” said the representative of RA President’s Administration.

Apitonyan also advised his colleagues in the Azerbaijani President’s Administration to refrain from using the epithet “spoilt child” when referring to Armenia in order to avoid revealing their subconscious motivations.