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Former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian will not participate in the parliamentary inquiry into the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), he said in a statement shared by the media on Saturday.

Earlier, Andranik Kocharyan, the chair of the parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security, said Oskanian had been invited to join the ad hoc commission investigating the circumstances of the 44-day war.

Oskanian says he has not yet received a written invitation from the commission but has decided not to participate in its work, arguing that it cannot be objective.

The ex-minister believes the war could have been averted through good diplomacy.

“The same holds true for the current situation. Through skillful diplomacy, without risking renewed war and with the support of the international community, we can avoid the recognition of Artsakh within the borders of the former NKAO as a part of Azerbaijan, the handover of any sovereign Armenian territory to Azerbaijan and the opening of a transport corridor in Syunik, contrary to the pressure exerted by Turkey and Azerbaijan," Oskanian said.