Aliyev Made Statements to Which I Must Respond: Vitaly Balasanyan

Artsakh is ready for any scenario regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, whether through negotiations or on the battlefield. This opinion was expressed by Vitaly Balasanyan, the former Secretary of the National Security Council of the Republic of Artsakh and Major General, on his Facebook page, addressing the meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev in Munich, particularly concerning the phased approach proposed by the Azerbaijani president for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

“Dear compatriots, yesterday, on February 15, 2020, in Munich, Germany, within the framework of the Security Conference, there was a brief meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of Armenia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, during which the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh was discussed. The discussion was broadcasted online and moderated by Celeste Wallander, the president of the America-Russia Foundation.

During this discussion, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev made statements to which I, as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic of Artsakh, must respond. The Azerbaijani president reiterated the phased approach to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a version that is unacceptable for the Republic of Artsakh. I remind you that this version of conflict resolution was discussed in 1997 and was officially rejected at that time.

Ilham Aliyev, during the discussion in Munich, demonstrated that Azerbaijan is still talking about the same phased approach to resolving the conflict 23 years later, as it is a direct avenue to seeing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. He desires the return of Azerbaijanis to Artsakh and is willing to achieve this goal through a phased approach, including the return of liberated territories, resettlement of displaced Azerbaijanis in Artsakh, and so on. Essentially, the negotiation process has regressed and returned to 1997.

In response to Azerbaijani President Aliyev, I state: The Republic of Artsakh has never been and will never be part of Azerbaijan. The people of Artsakh made their choice and, alongside the collapse of the Soviet Union, declared Artsakh as an independent Republic in accordance with the right of nations to self-determination. This is the reality. The Republic of Artsakh is an independent, democratic, sovereign state, and any other approach is unacceptable and perceived as a threat of war. I emphasize that Artsakh is ready for any scenario regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, whether through negotiations or on the battlefield. In any case, Artsakh is prepared to resolve its issues of independence and security.