Nagorno-Karabakh's engagement in peace talks 'objective necessity' - Nikol Pashinyan

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday reiterated his call for returning Nagorn-Karabakh (Artsakh) to the ongoing peace process, emphasizing the urgency of the move as an "objective necessity" for reaching a final breakthrough in the protracted Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

At a joint session held between the National Security Councils of Armenia and Artsakh, he called attention to two essential factors stemming from the positions of the conflicting sides.

The first problem, he said, deals with the Artsakh authorities' unwillingness to negotiate with the current government of Azerbaijan. "Why do I emphasize the current [government]? Because there are people in this hall, who have not only negotiated but also signed documents with the former authorities of Azerbaijan, including [former President] Heydar Aliyev.

"Secondly, Azerbaijan won't abandon its maximalist posture, viewing the peace process as a means for the gradual realization of all its demands. Instead of [treating it] as a means of compromise, they are heading towards the gradual realization of all their demands. That never works and will never work. A negotiation process is not an 'ordered show' with one or two intervals. Peace implies willingness to reach a compromise and a comprehensive solution,"  the prime minister said, addressing the participants of the forum.

Pashinyan added that it was in view of the problems raised that he had earlier proposed a settlement plan "acceptable to the people of both Nagorno-Karabakh,  and Azerbaijan and Armenia."

"This formula is nothing but a proposal for accepting the possibility of compromise. I repeat it is a proposal to accept the possibility - not the act of acceptance itself, as it is still too far from being a shaped process due to the reasons I mentioned.

"By refusing to accept my proposal, the Azerbaijani president refuses virtually to accept any possibility of compromise. Hence we cannot definitely expect a real progress in the negotiation process, especially in light of the accompanying threats or territorial or historical claims - laid to the Armenian people directly or indirectly," he added.

Paashinyan co-chaired the session with Arayik Harutyunyan, the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Aocording to a press release by the Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia, the forum in Yerevan was also attended by the two countries' National Assembly speakers.