YEREVAN. – The OSCE Minsk Group statements are of a general nature; there are no clear messages in them, said Eduard Sharmazanov, vice-chairman and spokesperson of the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), speaking to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

But, according to him, the concept of “right to self-determination” of people has been removed from circulation, in terms achieving a settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, and now solely a fair resolution to this conflict is being spoken about.

“Armenia’s Acting Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan has met with the head of Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry five times,” Sharmazanov noted, in particular. “Following the results of those meetings, one official statement and one report was made, [but] in which the status of Karabakh isn’t mentioned.”

In the RPA representative’s words, the incumbent Armenian authorities have not yet responded to the question as to why the Azerbaijani party to the Karabakh conflict has positive expectations this year with respect to the resolution of this conflict. 

He added that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political team has no clear concept toward the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

“In December 1991, the people of Karabakh held a referendum and proclaimed their independence,” Eduard Sharmazanov concluded. “[And] Armenia’s task is the protection of the results of that referendum.”