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March 29
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By Mariam Levina

Armenian News-NEWS.am spoke with second President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR, or Artsakh), Arkadi Ghukasyan who, at present is, Armenia’s ambassador with special directives.   

Below is an abridged version of the interview.

How do you see the prospects for NKR’s economic development? 

I hope that the NKR will steadily increase the pace of economic development. The continuous development of the Artsakh state depends on it. I hope that the information technology will develop in Artsakh.

Is a more intense attracting of foreign investments possible for the development of Artsakh’s economy? 

The ‘Armenian-origin’ foreign capital has come to the NKR a long time ago. As for the ‘non-Armenian’ investments, their involvement in the NKR economy is complicated because of the peculiarity of our situation. The unresolved state of the Karabakh issue and the absence of the international recognition of the status [of the NKR] deprive the NKR of the several opportunities which the recognized states have. The way out [of this situation] is the formation of, and the assistance to, a relevant investment environment.      

How important is the normalization of relations between the civil society of the NKR and Azerbaijan?  

Such ties are strictly necessary. In my view, the objective of normalization is not just the formal waiver from enmity, but the achievement of a historic reconciliation between the two nations. [But] unfortunately, the Azerbaijani authorities continue to instill a climate of hatred [against Armenians] in their society and hamper any initiative to normalize discourse with Karabakh.      

Can a progress be expected in 2014 in the settlement of the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict?

A progress is possible in the case of progressive moves by the parties [to the conflict]. But the Azerbaijani soldiers’ constant violations of the ceasefire agreement bespeak Azerbaijan’s [desire toward the] continuation of the conflict. In such conditions, we do not even think about achieving a consensus. [But] a breakthrough is possible in the talks [solely] in the case of Karabakh’s participation [in them].

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This text available in   Հայերեն and Русский
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