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“It’s what we’ve expected,” Artsakh President spokesperson, Davit Babayan told Panorama.am, commenting on trilateral meeting of Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in Saint Petersburg on June 20.

“The Presidents of the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Azerbaijan reiterated agreements reached at the May 16 Armenian-Azerbaijani Summit in Vienna aimed at the stabilization of the situation in the conflict area and creation of an atmosphere conducive for moving the peace process forward.
Towards that end, they agreed in particular to increase the number of international observers. They expressed satisfaction with the fact that recently the ceasefire regime at the line of contact has been upheld. There took place a substantial exchanged of opinions regarding the pivotal issues related to the settlement,” the joint statement of the Presidents reads.

“The most important thing is that it was mentioned that there’s no alternative to peaceful settlement. This is a key component, we need to continue working in this direction,” Mr. Babayan said.

Speaking about the agreement on installation of mechanisms on the Line of Contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan and increasing the number of international observers, Babayan noted that the mechanisms must have technical components, like installation of equipment along the Line of Contact, as well as expanding the office of the Personal Representative of OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

“Apparently, the primary thing is to solve the staff issue, to recruit professionals in the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Personal Representative’s team. Indeed, we understand who we’re dealing with. A country like Azerbaijan will do anything to hinder the negotiation process. However, we should work in this direction,” Artsakh President’s spokesperson said.

According to him, the situation on the Line of Contact is relatively calm. Yet Azerbaijan shows the same ‘aggressive attitude’ in the informational sphere.

Davit Babayan also noted that the negotiation process will last long for the parties to meet their responsibilities, yet it is possible that Azerbaijan will hinder this process at some point.

“It seems there is a general agreement. So, now we should move from general to particular. The recruiting process will probably be easy. It would be more difficult to install technical equipment, as Azerbaijan will hinder the process, as it’s they violating the ceasefire. This is a long and complex process. However, there’s no other way. Unless no steps are undertaken on the lowest level, which has been neglected during whole these years, it will be impossible to succeed in any other level of the settlement,” Babayan said.

According to him, Artsakh people are realistic and perfectly aware of who they’re dealing with.
Earlier, a trilateral meeting between Presidents of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan was held in Saint Petersburg on June 20. During the meeting, the presidents made a joint statement.