The West is taking consistent steps to break the Armenian side`s political will and force it into lowering the level of its demands with respect to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Stepan Safaryan, Chairman of the Heritage Parliamentary faction, told Armenian News-NEWS.am as he commented on statements by a number of Western officials, particularly by U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Matthew Bryza, who said that official Washington supports Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, as well as by Ian Brzezinski, who said that Azerbaijan`s increasing military budget is fraught with short- and long-term instability.

"In the context of other global tendencies, the statements are aimed at intimidating the Armenian side into concessions," Safaryan said. He pointed out that Armenia has a number of ways of resisting the pressure at its disposal.

"First, it was a major blunder by Armenian diplomacy to allow the West to openly support either of the conflicting parties. Under all the three presidents Armenia failed to prevent it," Safaryan said. He stressed that Armenia should have recognized Nagorno-Karabakh to prevent such developments. "No matter how many times the Armenian President or Foreign Minister or any other officials state that it is Azerbaijan that has caused the negotiations to reach s stalemate, their statements will never produce any effect. Both in the domestic and international arenas, Azerbaijan, by means of various statements and resolutions, has stated that it `has done with` such issues as its territorial integrity and Nagorno-Karabakh`s status. Armenia too, by recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh, should have clearly shown the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh`s status had been settled for it," Safaryan said. That would have put an end to the abnormal situation created by Azerbaijan, he said. The problem is impossible to resolve without Nagorno-Karabakh`s participation.

As regards the possibility of new hostilities, Safaryan said: "Besides Azerbaijan, it is the international community that will be responsible for resumed hostilities, human casualties and devastation. It is time to recognize the international community too is an equal party to the conflict, which assumed certain commitments. It must be viewed as a fact, just as the fact that Sheik-President Ilham Iliyev must be committed to international tribunal and punished with all the rigors of the law should he once more attempt to annihilate a whole people," Safaryan said.