YEREVAN. – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's impudence has reached the point where he is talking about plans to occupy the rest of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh); and in such conditions, Russia is now the bearer of the principle of "not an inch of land." The leader of Armenia’s Democratic Party, Aram Sargsyan, said this at a press conference on Friday.

He noted that the engagement of Turkey and Pakistan in regional processes speaks of long-term plans.

According to him, in recent days the Kremlin has come to the conclusion that it will protect the territory of Armenia and the part of Artsakh that its controls.

"It means protection in the form of physical presence and military actions, if the need arises. There is a contradiction here, because if Armenia does not show a desire to liberate the occupied territories, it means that Russia is taking on that guarantee, and this can create an absurd situation in the region. Armenia must take proportionate steps.

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs are now idle, as they do not know what to do; there is no proper mandate to suppress the dangerous development of events. (…). Therefore, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs need a new, expanded mandate. We are going to petition with corresponding proposal to the embassies of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries, as well as to the OSCE," the leader of Armenia’s Democratic Party stressed.

In his opinion, the Armenian parliament should adopt a draft decision recognizing the legality of and legality of the formation of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"If the Armenian parliament does not do that, no one will do it. We must show the world that Nagorno-Karabakh has been legally formed as a state and can hold a referendum on its status," Aram Sargsyan concluded.