The Republic of Artsakh Must Become a Full-fledged Party to Negotiations: Zohrab Mnatsakanyan

On July 31, Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met with Artsakh's Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan. The newly appointed representative of Artsakh in Armenia, Sergey Ghazaryan, also participated in the meeting, as reported by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Welcoming the guests, Minister Mnatsakanyan congratulated Sergey Ghazaryan on his appointment as Artsakh's representative in Armenia, wishing him fruitful and effective work.

The interlocutors exchanged detailed views on the tensions created in certain areas of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border due to the aggressive actions unleashed by the Azerbaijani military since July 12, as well as the steps taken to ease these tensions.

The heads of the foreign affairs departments of Armenia and Artsakh emphasized the importance of further strengthening the joint security system of Armenia and Artsakh and the actions being undertaken in this direction. In this context, the parties condemned the unacceptable introduction of destabilizing policies into the region and reiterated their firm rejection of such approaches.

Minister Mnatsakanyan stressed that the Republic of Artsakh must become a full-fledged party to negotiations on all aspects of the peace process, including substantive discussions, risk reduction, humanitarian issues, and more.

In the context of restoring and advancing the peace process, the foreign ministers prioritized the creation of a conducive environment for peace, which includes reinforcing and unconditionally maintaining the ceasefire regime, a public renouncement of the use of force by Azerbaijan, the cessation of anti-Armenian rhetoric, and the establishment of international monitoring mechanisms both at the state border and along the contact line.