Video: According to the Madrid Principles, Armenia has recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, says Pashinyan

“We must fundamentally reconsider the concept that has pursued the Artsakh issue during our years of independence,” stated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, adding that there are two parts to this matter: before and after the Madrid Principles.

“Before the Madrid Principles, the Armenian side’s position was that Artsakh has never been part of independent Azerbaijan and has exercised its right to self-determination in the context of the collapse of the USSR. Like other subjects of the USSR, who exercised their right to self-determination (which, by the way, is enshrined in the Alma-Ata Declaration) and received independence, Artsakh also exercised that right; therefore, it was not part of Azerbaijan but gained independence from the USSR. In 2007, during the period of the transfer of power when Serzh Sargsyan was Prime Minister and Robert Kocharian held the presidency, the Madrid Principles emerged, emphasizing both the principle of territorial integrity and the principle of self-determination. It was noted that the status of Artsakh must be clarified through some mechanism, and that mechanism must also be agreed upon by Azerbaijan. Here, a significant conceptual change has occurred,” said the Prime Minister.

“If prior to the Madrid Principles, the Armenian side's position was that Artsakh has never been part of Azerbaijan and it still isn’t, therefore, there may not be a need to reach an agreement on the future status because Artsakh has already self-determined. According to the Madrid Principles, an agreement must be reached with Azerbaijan regarding the status of Artsakh. Thus, according to credible information, the author of the project of those principles is the Armenian side,” he added.

According to the Prime Minister, here, self-determination means being somewhere, and by exercising the right to self-determination, moving elsewhere: “Before the Madrid Principles, that place was the USSR; after the Madrid Principles, it is Azerbaijan.”

He noted that a significant failure of their government has been the lack of explanation to the people about this since 2018.

The Prime Minister also addressed the exclusion of Artsakh from the negotiation table, stating that this has replaced the issue with a territorial dispute.

“According to the Madrid Principles, Armenia has recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan,” emphasized the Prime Minister.