We have not received a mandate from the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to negotiate their future. Accordingly, we have no right to determine their status, we have not presented such a claim, and we are not trying to do such a thing. Foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated this during Monday’s debates, at the joint session of the National Assembly committees, on the performance of the 2022 state budget of Armenia.
"The only thing that we [i.e. the authorities of Armenia] are trying to do in the process of normalizing Armenia-Azerbaijan relations is as follows: we consider that this normalization cannot be realistic and complete if a dialogue platform, a dialogue mechanism is not created within the framework of this normalization, where the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and official Baku can dialogue, negotiate, discuss all the issues that are important for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and their future. We [i.e. the authorities of Armenia] are not negotiating on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and we have no such ambition," the Armenian FM said.
"No one denies that there are many open questions related to the security and rights of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is evidenced by the blockade, the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor, [natural] gas supply disruptions [by Azerbaijan], and other issues. They should be discussed and addressed, not by us [i.e. the authorities of Armenia], but by the bodies and authorized institutions elected by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. We should try to ensure the beginning, the launch, the platform of that dialogue," said Mirzoyan.
And to the question of opposition MP Artur Khachatryan as to whether Armenia’s authorities had received the authorization of Artsakh authorities to reaffirm the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over Artsakh, the Armenian FM said: "Neither the people of Nagorno-Karabakh nor their elected authorities have authorized us to negotiate on their status, and we are not negotiating on that status either. Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan both then and now."
