“By proposing the highest-level autonomy to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) within Azerbaijan’s borders that country’s politicians are just engaged in political speculations. There is no returning to the past, and, I think, the fact is clear to anyone,” NKR President Bako Sahakyan stated in his interview with Interfax.

“We had such autonomy for 70 years, in Soviet times, as everyone knows well what was the end. Any highest-level or any other autonomy within Azerbaijan’s borders is out of the question. The only solution to the conflict with Azerbaijan is legal international recognition of the NKR’s independence,” President Sahakyan said.

As regards the current stage of the negotiations, the NKR leader pointed out that a final settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict requires the restoration of the format with the NKR’s participation as a negotiator.

“The only requirement is to observe the resolution of the OSCE Summit in Budapest in 1994. That summit was actually a founding one. It made decisions transforming the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) into the OSCE, as well as instituting OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs,” President Sahakyan said.

The NKR leader pointed out that the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict is impossible to settle without the NKR’s participation in the negotiations. International mediators, particularly the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, admit the fact.

“We are ready for direct negotiations with Azerbaijan and for discussing any issues, which we are constantly stating. It is just impossible to ignore Nagorno-Karabakh’s opinion even despite the fact that Azerbaijan’s destructive policy deformed the negotiation process. I think the restoration of the normal negotiation format is a matter of time,” Sahakyan said.