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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ruled put conspiracies in the settlement of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) conflict while addressing the developments in the peace process over the past one year and a half.

“The Karabakh issue isn’t my issue or an issue of a group: it’s a pan-national issue,” the Armenian leader said in a Facebook live.

“I’ve said that the solution of the Karabakh conflict must be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Karabakh and Azerbaijan. My key task is to search and find a solution acceptable to Armenia and the Armenian people at the negotiating table,” he said.

“When we arrive at such a solution in the negotiation process, I will present it to our people to hold nationwide debates on it and make decisions in a pan-national format,” the PM said, adding this format of the conflict settlement may also involve conduct of a referendum.

Pashinyan noted that relations with Azerbaijan have always been full of hazards, adding however they are not bigger now than they used to be some 5 years ago.

“A monitoring of the situation on the border would reveal that tensions dropped sharply and considerably over the past one year and a half which was a result of the well-known talks [with the Azerbaijani president] in Dushanbe,” the PM said.

Meanwhile, he admitted the border incidents still continue, sometimes leading to fatalities.

Addressing the speculations over possible controversies between the Armenian and Artsakh authorities, Pashinyan stressed the two countries have “identical” positions on the issue. “It simply cannot be otherwise. Any speculation on this topic is just ridiculous. I often hold discussions on the issue with the Artsakh authorities and President Bako Sahakyan,” the PM said.