NKR Presidential Spokesperson speaks on proportionate compromise
The official Stepanakert expects positive outcomes from the meeting of U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov on July 14 in Moscow, NKR Presidential Spokesperson Davit Babayan told Panorama.am.
“We value these meetings, especially when the two prestigious states, that are members of both the OSCE Minsk Group and the UK Security Council, are concerned for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Perhaps some steps would be taken towards the development of the mechanisms for strengthening the peace and stability,” he said.
Concerning the fact that there is no noticeable progress in terms of installation of the investigation mechanisms after the Vienna and Saint Petersburg Summits, Mr. Babayan said that it’s a long process. “In Vienna, as well as in Saint Petersburg the parties made a general agreement, which is rather important. The development of the mechanisms should begin after the agreement is reached. This makes it a long process. Currently, there’s no need to say that there’s no progress. The important thing is that the process has started. No one said that the introduction of the mechanisms would happen in a month. This is a very long process”.
According to Mr. Babayan, Azerbaijan, which is famous for its “nonconstructive policy” could be a reason for the delay in installing the mechanisms.
Speaking about the rumors in the Armenian political circles concerning revised Kazan document, according to which, Armenia should cede certain territory to Azerbaijan for an interim status of Nagorno Karabakh, Davit Babayan said that these are just speculations. “First of all, we need to revive the full format of the negotiations. We cannot take any obligations if we haven’t attended this or that discussion. We can only be obliged to maintain the peace, as we are a direct party of the 1994 ceasefire agreement. In other cases, unless there is clear information on the negotiation process, it’s wrong to speak about any solution,” the NKR President’s Spokesperson added.
He confirmed the position of official Stepanakert on peaceful settlement of the conflict through negotiations and compromise. “The compromise should be proportionate. It shouldn’t become a temptation for Azerbaijan to solve the conflict through military operations. We’ve already stated there will be no compromise in terms of ceding territory or status”.