Who Excluded Artsakh from Negotiations? Clarifies V. Soghomonyan, Chief of R. Kocharyan's Office

The Nagorno-Karabakh region has never been a part of independent Azerbaijan. It is well known that Nagorno-Karabakh intends to hold a referendum in accordance with international law and stand by the results of that referendum. This was stated today by Viktor Soghomonyan, head of the office of the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, during a session of the Lazarev Club.

“In 2006, the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, was asked where the compromise line of the Armenian side lies. The line ends where the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh begins. There is no turning back to the past; Nagorno-Karabakh must be independent and then decide whether it wants to remain independent or join Armenia. This is the boundary of possible compromises,” said Viktor Soghomonyan, noting that two generations have been born in Nagorno-Karabakh who live independently and cannot imagine being part of Azerbaijan.

He also addressed the opinions about who and when Nagorno-Karabakh was excluded from the negotiation process. “It has been said that this happened when representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh held high positions in Armenia. That is not true. Zhirayr Liparityan stated back in 1997 that in order to increase the effectiveness of the negotiations, the Armenian side agreed that Nagorno-Karabakh would not participate in the negotiations for some time, which would be held between Armenia and Azerbaijan. From that moment on, the Republic of Artsakh ceased its participation in the talks, which disrupted their normalcy. And yes, the return of Artsakh to the negotiating table and the start of negotiations between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan would reflect their real situation,” emphasized Viktor Soghomonyan.