YEREVAN. – Are the Madrid Principles in the Karabakh conflict settlement talks acceptable to the new authorities? Hraparak (Square) newspaper asked this to Acting Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan of Armenia.

“I believe our attention should be focused on the principles that we today highlight (…). Whether or not you want to include all that in the Madrid Principles, please strictly stress these two points: status and security [of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)]; they are the most important to us.

“We can’t negotiate around a status that doesn’t satisfy our biggest issue: the physical security of Artsakh and Artsakh people.

“Mr. Mnatsakanyan, at any rate, the impression is that your approaches and thoughts differ from [Armenia Acting PM] Nikol Pashinyan’s statements. ‘They don’t differ.’ They differ because he says no negotiations without Karabakh, whereas you have negotiated with [Azerbaijan FM Elmar] Mammadyarov twice already, without the Karabakh side. ‘That’s a quite extensive topic; we will reflect on it in another format,’” Hraparak wrote.