YEREVAN. – Armenian deputy FM Shavarsh Kocharyan does not believe that the parliamentary elections will slow down the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Kocharyan said in an interview to the Armenian News-News.am. Moreover, Armenia has for many times confirmed its disposition for the negotiations based on Basic Principles elaborated by the international mediators. Azerbaijan is the conflicting side, which torpedoes the achievement of the progress. At the same time, there is no need to expect any change of the Azerbaijani disposition with the change of the authorities.

Asked what the guarantees are that final decision may be achieved when Azerbaijan signs and later rejects documents, the deputy FM said that the issue is a deeper one. Azerbaijan has already realized that it can no longer blackmail the mediators or even influence on Armenia and hence passed from tearful aggressiveness into aggressive tearfulness. For example, it has for many times been spoken about the necessity for launching contacts between the conflicting sides, including Nagorno-Karabakh. However, with Azerbaijani desire to see Karabakh within its territory and later start contacting blocks the process, which could have led to positive results. 

In response to the question that Azerbaijan interprets the principle of territorial integrity and the right to self-determination in the Madrid Principles as self-determination of Karabakh within Azerbaijan, Kocharyan said that in that case Azerbaijan would not torpedo the negotiation process and break down the Kazan agreement. Anyway, according to the UN, one of the three goals for the organization is establishment of friendly relations between the nations based on equality of rights and right of people to self-determination.

Interview by Mariam Levina