Kazaniyani Pact Did Not Imply Territorial Concessions, It Implied the Status of Artsakh: Serzh Sargsyan

We did not artificially prolong the status quo. This was stated by Serzh Sargsyan. “I also disagree that the Kazaniyani Agreement implied territorial concessions; it assumed the status of Artsakh, outside of Azerbaijan. Forget about what we were going to give, think about what we would be getting. We would have received an internationally guaranteed promise that the final status of Artsakh should be determined by the free expression of will of the people of Artsakh, which has mandatory legal force and whose agenda is not limited in any way. This would give us the opportunity to go for compromises in resolving the issue.”

Sargsyan also noted that Artsakh would have security guarantees. “In addition, we would have received an interim status for Artsakh, which, as the President of Azerbaijan and the co-chairs referred to as today’s reality plus. With that interim status, Artsakh would receive seven security guarantees, the first of which was that the security of Artsakh is ensured by its self-defense forces, that Armenia is officially the guarantor of Artsakh’s security, that the election of legislative and executive bodies in Artsakh is recognized by the international community, that the judicial system in Artsakh is considered recognized by the international community, and so on.”

The third president of Armenia also stated that in this way, Artsakh would be able to join international organizations. “Artsakh would have the right to join international organizations, for which independence is a prerequisite. That was an additional plus. Until the day of Artsakh's independence—the day of the referendum—we would have had under our control Lachin and Karvachar. The discussion was about five regions. Therefore, there was no talk of land connectivity or corridor here,” he said.