Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is not negotiating with Azerbaijan; there are contacts with Azerbaijan, but they are of a technical nature—and with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers. Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, David Babayan, told reporters about this at the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia Friday.

"But these are not negotiations; Azerbaijan refuses to negotiate with Karabakh. When they say ‘Let's negotiate,’ their vision [in this regard] is different from ours. In their view, they shall negotiate with ‘aborigines’ who shall ask for forgiveness, go on their knees, and say, ‘We have made a mistake.’ This is not acceptable to us [i.e., the Artsakh Armenians]," Babayan added.

And reflecting on to the statements that Armenia has “washed” its “hands” of Artsakh, the latter’s acting FM responded: "It is not possible: We will have meetings with all factions in the NA. (…). At the meeting with the [ruling majority] CC [(“Civil Contract” Faction], they officially announced that the issue of Artsakh will always be in the center, and Armenia will never wash its hands of Artsakh; this is an important message. I understand that there is an internal political battle, there are disagreements, and this is natural for a democratic country. But we need to have a unified approach on Artsakh."