YEREVAN. – As long as Baku pretends that there is no Karabakh, there will be no progress in the negotiations, too, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan told reporters after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

In his words, even though Azerbaijan failed to carry out a blitzkrieg—i.e. an intense military campaign intended to bring about a swift victory—and the country’s leadership came under certain pressure, there are no considerable changes in the bellicose rhetoric of Baku.

“It is apparent that Azerbaijan uses the whole [Karabakh conflict] negotiation process to disseminate misinformation and its propaganda; also, to arm [itself] and prepare for solving the problem by force,” Kocharyan said. “Although Azerbaijan’s last attempt did not succeed, the Armenian side must always be ready for new adventurisms [by Azerbaijan]. The Armenian side needs to place the emphasis right on what is now called negotiations.

“And as to what status Nagorno-Karabakh will have, only its people can decide. The NKR [i.e. the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh)] people have expressed their will to live in an independent state, actually coming out also from Armenia; Armenia has had a respect for this will of the people.”