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Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement following a meeting between Artsakh and Azerbaijani officials on Wednesday. The full text of the statement is provided below.

"On 1 March, another meeting was held between representatives of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan with the mediation of the Commander of the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent deployed in Artsakh.

During the meeting, parties discussed humanitarian issues in the context of the need for the immediate unblocking of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. Such meetings between representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, mediated by the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent, were held repeatedly at different levels to discuss various technical, humanitarian and infrastructural issues.

Participants of the meeting did not discuss issues related to the political status of the Republic of Artsakh. Comments made by the Azerbaijani side on the results of the meeting do not correspond to reality. The Republic of Artsakh remains committed to the choice of its people, who have embarked on the path of self-determination and independence, enshrined by a referendum in 1991.

Such discussions aimed at resolving urgent issues, in particular the unblocking of Artsakh, cannot replace full-fledged peace negotiations, which are necessary to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict. We proceed from the need to restore the international mediation format as an important guarantee of the irreversibility of the peace process. We also reiterate the invariance of the position of the Republic of Artsakh that the results of the illegal use or threat of force by Azerbaijan cannot serve as a starting point on the path to peace, stability and security."