“Before the Quivest negotiations it was clear that Armenia only should participate in talks, as the basic principle was if a treaty is signed, Karabakh should immediately appended to Armenia,” stated Kiro Manoyan, ARF Dashnaktsutyun Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office Director,. He also stressed, that “if Karabakh to be appended to Armenia, it is clear that Armenia should negotiate.”

However, after Quivest talks, there was an attempt to reopen the talks, and NKR presence had to be ensured. “But I have to state, that the situation was complicated: if Armenia insists, the talks might never begin”, Manoyan added.

Nevertheless, according to Manoyan all discussions prior to that to be nullified, Armenia had to refuse participation in negotiations and let Baku and Stepanakert be only parties.

In response to NEWS.am question, when and why Nagorno-Karabakh was left out of the negotiations, Kiro Manoyan said: “It was when Robert Kocharyan and Ilham Aliyev started to negotiate.”

Being questioned: “After 1998, when Karabakh found itself out of talks, do you consider this right and think that the mistake was made immediately after the Quivest?” he replied – “Yes, till 2001-2002 the absence of Karabakh from talks was acceptable, as the bottom line was to have Karabakh in the Armenian Republic”.

Our another question was: “Maybe it was a trap to make Karabakh self-determination issue a territorial dispute?”, the politician said: “Probably, it was logical that Nagorno-Karabakh was left out of the talks.”