It is absolutely unacceptable to bracket the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) together, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Foreign Minister David Babayan told a press conference Wednesday.

He emphasized that Artsakh has a rich history of statehood, it was part of all Armenian kingdoms, and even when Armenia lost its statehood, Artsakh preserved it in one way or another.

"NKAO is one of the important pages of our history. However, bracketing it together [with the NKR] is inadmissible. The statehood developed, the NKAO ceased to exist, becoming one of the foundations of the NKR—together with the Shahumyan and Getashen regions. The NKAO is already history—with all its borders. To bracket [the NKAO and the NKR] together means to question the legitimacy of the NKR," Babayan said.

The FM announced that at this phase Artsakh has no borders, but rather a line of contact.

"But this does not mean that we must give up our legal and historical heritage. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe," David Babayan emphasized.