Balayan: Stepanakert`s participation in the negotiations on the  Karabakh conflict is a prerequisite for achieving a clear and  long-lasting peace

ArmInfo. The foreign policy of Armenia will continue in the same vein. Tigran Balayan, Press Secretary of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, stated during a press  conference on May 22.

According to him, there is a consensus on this issue in the society,  and the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated that the  course will be continued. Balayan also noted that there is nothing  new in the statement about the need for direct participation of  Artsakh in the negotiations, and this was repeatedly stressed from  the Armenian side. "However, today the realities have changed, the  Prime Minister spoke about this in different formats, and according  to which the more active involvement of Artsakh in the negotiation  process is expected," he added.

At the same time, Balayan stressed that Armenia's position on the  Karabakh settlement has not changed.  According to him, Armenia  believes that the conflict should be settled exclusively by peaceful  means, based on the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, as  well as in the implementation of the agreements reached after the  April aggression. According to him, this is the clear position of  Armenia, which has been repeatedly confirmed at various levels.

Speaking about Artsakh's involvement in the conflict settlement,  Balayan reminded that Artsakh is involved in the settlement process  somehow, there is a lot of document fixing it. "The question is that  Azerbaijan has rejected direct negotiations with Artsakh for years, I  would like to remind you that the main result of the conflict  settlement, the agreement on the ceasefire of 1994 was the result of  direct contacts between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. The then President of  Artsakh Robert Kocharyan met Azeri President Heydar Aliyev, there was  direct correspondence and there is relevant documentation. Our task  today is that the Azeri authorities, who since 2003 are negotiating  on behalf of Azerbaijan, were clearly aware that only direct  negotiations with Artsakh would allow us to reach a long-lasting  peace, not so that we would refuse to negotiate. Yes, we as Armenia,  and as a guarantor of the security of Artsakh, will continue to  participate in the talks, while saying that Stepanakert's  participation in the negotiations is an indispensable condition for  achieving a clear peace," the representative of the Armenian Foreign  Ministry said.

Speaking about the visit of the mediators to the region, the Foreign  Ministry spokesman noted that the mediators expressed their desire to  visit the region in June, to meet with the new Armenian authorities.   "The timing is still being specified, as the schedule of the Foreign  Minister is quite rich, but I believe that this meeting will still  take place in June. At the moment, there is no agreement on the  meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan," Balayan  said.