Dialogue with Baku is acceptable for us, but first of all it should be clearly introduced within the framework of the international mechanism. Aram Harutyunyan, a member of the ruling faction of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) National Assembly, told this to Armenian News-NEWS.am.
Referring to the fact that there was a possibility of a Stepanakert-Baku meeting in a third country last month by mediation of the US, but the meeting did not take place due to Stepanakert's worries about its agenda, Harutyunyan said: "During that possible meeting, there should not be a unilaterally imposed agenda. I believe there were some clashes in this context, and that's why the meeting was not held."
"Why are we [i.e. Artsakh] talking about international mechanism? This is not a proposal for its own sake, but we realize that Azerbaijan signed even the tripartite statement with two recognized countries—Armenia and Russia—, and does not fulfill its obligations it assumed under that document. Now imagine if Azerbaijan reaches an agreement during the dialogue with Artsakh, where are the guarantees that they will be brought to fruition? We believe that this international mechanism should take on the role of that guarantor in the future, so that the acquired obligations are fulfilled," the Artsakh MP added.
To the question of what the main agenda will be in case of a possible Baku-Stepanakert meeting, Aram Harutyunyan responded as follows: "A few days ago, the president of Artsakh gave a speech in the National Assembly and clearly stated what preconditions Azerbaijan is positing for starting a dialogue [with Artsakh]. Such preconditions cannot be acceptable, i.e. giving up the right to self-defense [of Artsakh], withdrawing from the agenda of self-determination [of Artsakh], talking only about [Artsakh’s] integration [with Azerbaijan]. From the beginning, this is a one-sided imposed agenda around which it is not possible to form a dialogue. Azerbaijan promotes this notion at all public levels. Stepanakert also posits its conditions, and the first [thing] there is to create an international mechanism."
The Artsakh lawmaker added that at the moment there is no agreement regarding a possible Baku-Stepanakert meeting.
