The statement of the Nagorno-Karabakh Prime Minister had no special message to the negotiators engaged in the Karabakh peace process, Vahram Baghdasaryan, Head of the Parliamentary Faction of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), has told ArmInfo when commenting on the latest statement of NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan.
To recall, during an online press conference NKR Prime Minister Ara Harutyunyan officially claimed for the first time that even if Nagorno-Karabakh becomes a participant in the negotiations again, the Madrid Principles will be unacceptable to Stepanakert. "I do not think that if Artsakh becomes a party to the talks, the people or leadership of Artsakh will positively respond to the discussions around the principles", said Harutyunyan. When commenting on possible cession of the seven districts to Azerbaijan, the NKR Prime Minister said, "The liberated territories are Artsakh and there can be no other point of view".
"Anyway, this is the opinion of the Prime Minister of Artsakh and he has the right to have such a point of view. However, I do not think it can seriously affect the current stage of the peace process. The talks are still going on. Therefore, it would be wrong to openly speak of some aspects of the process, especially given that Stepanakert is not a party to the talks yet", stressed Baghdasaryan.
The OSCE Minsk Group represented by Russian, U.S. and French Co-Chairs has been engaged in the Karabakh peace process since 1992. The Madrid Principles were suggested by the OSCE Minsk Group in 2007 and updated in 2009.