YEREVAN. – Edmon Marukyan, Chairman of the parliamentary opposition Bright Armenia Party (BAP), does not believe that the negotiations on the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) issue are in a state of stagnation.

“There are negotiations,” Marukyan on Thursday told reporters at Yerablur Military Pantheon in capital city Yerevan. “[But] there has been no acceptable solution for us [the Armenian party to the Karabakh conflict]. [And] as long as there is no acceptable solution for the Armenian side yet, I don’t want to discuss the Azerbaijan side. It’s too early to speak about resolving the issue. [We] need to strengthen, develop the economy, strengthen the [military] rear, the frontline, increase the number of contract [military servicemen], (...) the upset military and political balance should be restored.”

And when asked about the chances of Artsakh returning to the negotiating table, Marukyan responded as follows: “I will consider [it] realistic if we [the Armenian party to the Karabakh conflict] do good work with the international community. Azerbaijan itself will not say, ‘Let Artsakh return [to the negotiating table].’ The international community should form the view that this is an ‘undiscussable’ matter, and in that case, Azerbaijan can’t say ‘no.’”

As per the BAP leader, the Armenian Foreign Ministry and diplomatic corps need to work on a daily basis so that the international community will have a formed view on the Artsakh issue.