The families of the Azerbaijani saboteurs imprisoned in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) and the Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan will soon be able to pay reciprocal visits to see their relatives. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Masis Mayilyan told Azatutyun Radio.

He emphasized that the official Stepanakert has already given its consent.

Touching upon the topic of “handover of lands”, Mayilyan stated the following: “The incumbent authorities of Armenia are probably the only authorities that have not talked about the handover of lands at all. I will express my position as foreign minister and a potential presidential candidate. We also have our plan which states that the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh needs to be hinged on acknowledgement of exercise of the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination, not the right to self-determination since the people of Artsakh already have that right and have already exercised it.

The talks about certain lands or communities are attempts to distort the essence of the conflict. I know there is no document on the negotiating table. We are currently working on shaping an environment and holding discussions, and there have already been visits of Armenian journalists of Artsakh and Armenia to Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani journalists to Artsakh and Armenia. So, it is safe to say that we are talking about confidence-building measures,” he said, adding that the visits of journalists were organized by Armenia, Artsakh and Azerbaijan and mediated by Ambassador Kasprzyk.

Mayilyan also stated that there is an idea to provide the families of saboteurs kept in Artsakh with the opportunity to visit the saboteurs and provide the families of Armenian hostages in Azerbaijan with the opportunity to visit the hostages.

When asked if the idea is being considered, Masis Mayilyan said it is being considered. “At least our side has agreed, the only thing left is the desire of the relatives of the Azerbaijani saboteurs. Such steps need to be taken to create the environment and reduce risks. It is a fact that the ceasefire regime has been mainly maintained after the meeting in Dushanbe. All these steps will help shape the environment that will let us slowly make the transition to substantive discussions during which the presence of Artsakh and the restoration of the format of negotiations will play a very pivotal role.”