Foreign Ministry Spokesperson on Meeting of NGO Representative with Ambassadors in Azerbaijan
In response to a question regarding the meeting of a representative of a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Azerbaijan with ambassadors, the spokesperson of the Armenian Foreign Ministry stated:
Question: Discussions are intensifying within Armenia's expert community regarding the increasing role of the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh in the peace process, as evidenced by the meeting between the ambassadors of the co-chairing countries and community leader Tural Ganjaliyev. Is there such a development?
Response: The activities of non-governmental organizations (GONGOs) organized by the government of Azerbaijan, no matter what fictitious name they may present themselves under, do not serve as a factor in the peace process, and the Armenian Foreign Ministry does not comment on their interactions with members of the diplomatic corps accredited to their country. I reiterate that Armenia's position regarding the parties to the conflict is clear. Since 1992, the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh have participated in the peace process as elected representatives of the region. The authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, signed the Bishkek Protocol, which contains a call for the establishment of a ceasefire, and the final document of the 1994 OSCE Budapest Summit fixated on the trilateral negotiation format stemming from the 1994 ceasefire agreement between Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.