“Serious changes are taking place in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process,” Gagik Minasyan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs, RA Parliament, told reporters. In this context he considers Azerbaijan’s bellicose statements logical. According to him, the Armenia-Turkey normalization process is of benefit not only to Turkey and Armenia, but also Azerbaijan, as it enables Azerbaijanis to get rid of the illusions about a settlement of the conflict in their favor.

“That is why they are beating their heads against a brick wall. Now they threat with war now they speak about joining the Collective Security Treaty Organization,” Minasyan said. He is sure that the process is now following the course predicted by the Armenian side — in Athens the conflicting parties, as well as the mediators stated that the problem must be resolved on the three principles incorporated in the Helsinki Act: non-use of force, territorial integrity and nations’ right to self-determination.

“They are the principles the Armenian side has repeatedly stated in its propaganda battle,” Minasyan said. He regards as noteworthy RF Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement that one and the same principle should be applied in settling all the Caucasian conflicts. Implying Russia, which supported the principle of nations’ self-determination in the case of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Minasyan said: “We should see how consistent Russia is.”

Responding to NEWS.am’s question about the progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process mentioned in a joint statement by the five Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Minasyan said that the sides’ very consent to further negotiations is progress.