Kocharian's Office Responds to Prime Minister Pashinyan's Statement

"According to the Madrid Principles, the Republic of Armenia has recognized Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated today, on April 12, in parliament in response to a question from a member of the ruling party regarding the self-determination of Artsakh.

Since the "Madrid Principles" were adopted as the basis for negotiations in 2007 during the presidency of the second president Robert Kocharian, News.am has requested a comment from Kocharian's office.

Bagrat Mikoyan, head of the office, told us in a conversation: "We have repeatedly addressed this issue in detail and comprehensively. To avoid repetition, let me quote a part of the office's response from November 14 last year: 'Thanks to intensive diplomatic efforts in 2007, the Madrid Principles presented at the negotiation table not only did not and could not entail the recognition of Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, but also for the first time made the right to self-determination of Artsakh internationally acceptable and guaranteed. The Madrid Principles have been published, and even Aliyev or any other Turk has not dared to claim that they recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan...'.