Armenian FM: Had the proposals been favourable to Azerbaijan, negotiation would not have reached an impasse

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has denied media speculations alleging that during his visit to Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered a plan implying ‘painful concessions’ over the Karabakh settlement. Edward Nalbandian says Russian Foreign Minister did not bring any new document with him to Armenia. “The large-scale military actions unleashed by Azerbaijani forces early in April have caused a great harm to the negotiation process, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told reporters at the Genocide Memorial Complex in Yerevan. He said ‘The Co-Chairs along with the international community should make efforts to overcome that damage cause to the peace talks.’ However, he added, ‘it is difficult to overcome the harm, because there are losses, and it’s irrecoverable.” “Today the international community is trying bringing Azerbaijan to a constructive arena to be able to continue the negotiations, as there is no alternative to peaceful talks,” he added. He again dismissed reports about a framework document proposed by Russia. “Sergey Lavrov declared at a press conference that today the efforts should focus on implementation of mechanisms for investigation of border incidents and confidence-building measures in order to be able ensure stability and security in the region, create more favourable conditions for the continuation of talks,” Nalbandian stressed. The Armenian Foreign Minister added that no issue on territorial concessions was discussed during Lavrov’s visit, noting that only the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, voiced at the level of presidents and known to all have been mentioned There are proposals by the Co-Chairs incorporated in the five famous statements made on the level of the Presidents of Russia, France and the United States. Armenia has declared on different occasions its readiness to continue talks, while Azerbaijan continues to ignore them. This is the reality and the reason why the international community should try to force Azerbaijan to return to a constructive track,” the Armenian FM said. Does the resolution of the conflict imply territorial concessions? In reply to A1+, Edward Nalbandian said, “by saying resolution we mean what has been repeatedly announced by the Armenian President and Foreign Minister. There is no need to invent new things. "If Baku thought it could benefit from these proposals, the negotiation would not have reached an impasse and Azerbaijan would not have unleashed the latest hostilities in Karabakh. Azerbaijan failed in the talks and tries to solve the issue in a military way, but failed here, as well. Baku will have to return to the negotiating table, because there is no alternative to talks.”