With his statement, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev showed that the concept that exists in Armenia, that Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) can become part of Azerbaijan and then the Armenians of Artsakh will try within to fight for their rights, cannot be realized, former Minister of State of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this.

Vardanyan added that since it was clearly stated that there are no Armenians in Artsakh, according to the president of Azerbaijan, they should apologize in the hope of mercy, which may not happen, and Aliyev calls for surrender and obedience by the Artsakh Armenians.

According to him, there is nothing surprising in Aliyev's statements because in the past he always claimed that there was no government in Artsakh, or that there were few people living in Artsakh.

"This information work has been going on for 1.5 years already. We [i.e., the Artsakh Armenians] should take it calmly. We have an elected president, an elected parliament. We must show the world that we have a state that has been built for 30 years, and despite its advantages and shortcomings, it has its own history and its working mechanisms. We should calmly continue our work," emphasized Vardanyan.