Minsk Group de facto recognizes Nagorno Karabakh: Richard Giragosyan

Armenia had good chances to recognize Artsakh Republic (Nagorno Karabakh) after the end of war in 1994 or following Kosovo's recognition as an independent state, but the country's government was unable to do that, according to Head of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) Richard Giragosian.

"I don't think any stakeholder inside or outside the region really believes that Karabakh can be returned to Azerbaijan," he told a press conference on Tuesday.

"Armenia's recognition of Nagorno Karabakh should not be seen as a priority. The important thing is that Minsk Group has non-officially recognized the country," the expert said, adding that only those anticipating a war in the region believe in the possibility of Karabakh's return under Azerbaijani rule.

"So the Azerbaijani cartographers have a lot of work to do in this direction, since the return is out of the question," he added.