Armenia has always been adherent to the principle of political settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Armenia’s Ambassador to Russia Vardan Toghanyan told Russia’s Ekho Moskvy.
Armenia has always aspired to the peace process, he said, adding that the first contacts were established after the new Armenian government was formed.
He pointed to the two meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers as well as intensive contacts at the level of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
“And there was contact between the leaders of the two countries in Dushanbe, as you know, between Aliyev and Pashinyan, as a result of which a kind of communication line was developed, an operational link to prevent force majeure situations on the line of contact. We understand that the country faces a major political event - parliamentary elections – and, in fact, in a country with a constitutional parliamentary model, election has a decisive role, therefore it is clear that any global economic and geopolitical projects, including the negotiation process on such a major issue for the region, as a Karabakh settlement, cannot stepped up right now, before the elections. And it is clear that this will happen after the elections”.
Toghanyan added that Pashinyan had repeatedly spoken about the readiness to hold talks and to discuss the matter.
“But, our neighbors also had to be committed. The situation on the line of contact – permanent shelling and killing of our servicemen – unfortunately is hardly inspiring optimism. However, we are confident that the conflict can be resolved exclusively by means of political settlement and talks,” he said.
Asked whether the shelling is discussed via newly established communication line, the ambassador said this line had been recently established and it is not between the leaders.
“In fact it is a kind of a hotline, a communication line between the representatives of the defense departments. I can state that after seeking this line following the meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev, the situation is more or less calm. Therefore, it somehow contributed to the improvement of the situation,” the Ambassador concluded.
