The people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will never be exposed to the dangers that they faced in the 1990s. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with Artsakh Public Television.
“Let’s not forget the situation regarding security in Artsakh in 1992 and 1993. The ongoing threat is expressed in different periods, be it hatred, Armenophobic policy, maximalism, expression of maximalist approaches during peace and more extreme manifestations, like in April 2016.
This is an ongoing reminder that the threat is real. Unfortunately, the threat remains an extremely visible factor, and this is one of our priority issues.
Alongside this, the right of Artsakh to self-determination and the right to live freely has been and remains one of our priority objectives. Within this scope, we will continue to work within the scope of the peace process and negotiate with the other side under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.
There can’t be a situation where the security of the people of Artsakh and their rights are at risk, starting from protection of the right to life and ending with expression of the right to collective self-determination,” Mnatsakanyan said.
Mnatsakanyan also touched upon the parliamentary and presidential elections held in Artsakh and stated that those elections showed that the people of Artsakh are serious about and responsible for exercising and ensuring their right to self-determination.
“Throughout the past thirty years, Artsakh has more than clearly expressed the commitment and ability to build a system underlying the person with all of his rights and freedoms. This is very essential and further reinforces the major message that Artsakh has earned its right to exercise its right to self-determination.
I would like to state how important my meeting with President of Artsakh Arayik Haroutyunyan and our discussions are. What was also very important was my meeting with the newly elected speaker and deputies of the National Assembly,” he said.
