-Mr. Mayilyan, what are the main issues of Artsakh’s foreign policy agenda and your priorities as the new foreign minister of Artsakh on solving the problems existing in the field?
-In October 2017 Artsakh’s political and socio-economic development program was presented by President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan which also has a reference to the priority directions of the Artsakh foreign policy agenda.
The efforts of the foreign ministry will be mostly directed towards developing and strengthening the existing positive trends in the process of international recognition of Artsakh’s independence and ensuring its irreversibility. In particular, steps will be taken aimed at expanding the geography of Artsakh’s recognition and establishing a bilateral cooperation with subjects that recognized us. The development of ties at decentralized cooperation formats will enable to implement different programs in the fields of culture, education, sports, economy and local self-governance.
The foreign ministry of Artsakh will continue the consistent works on recognizing the right to self-determination exercised by Artsakh as a base for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh-Azerbaijani conflict. Resisting the Azerbaijani attempts to isolate Artsakh is especially significant on the background of Azerbaijan’s unconstructive stance on the conflict settlement. Creation of external favorable conditions for the Republic’s economic development and attracting investments is one of our priorities. In order to solve this problem the Artsakh foreign ministry closely cooperates with the country’s ministries and structures responsible for the economic bloc.
One of the key directions of the Artsakh foreign policy agenda is also the further expansion and deepening of the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora cooperation. We highly appreciate the Diaspora’s contribution to development and strengthening of Artsakh and protection of its interests abroad, and at the same time, we consider important Artsakh’s participation in the process of preservation of the Armenian identity in the Diaspora.
One of the main components of the country’s foreign political activity is to make the international community informed about the Artsakh issues and maintain the country’s positive image. In this sense the foreign ministry plays a key role, and we will continue the active works on this path. Artsakh’s diplomatic service is engaged in the implementation of the mentioned issues, programs and other foreign policy initiatives.
-On October 16 the meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents was held, but before this period and following it, the border tension again increased, there were shots and casualties. Thereafter, the co-chairs’ meeting with the foreign ministries of the two countries was held. In future as well meetings are expected. In the context of these border incidents how do you assess the effectiveness of such meetings?
-The meetings of Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents and foreign ministers are important in terms of reducting the tension in the conflict zone. The restoration of the negotiation process in full format is possible only in case of stability. Thus, at this stage the issue of irreversibility of the peace process is important for which the 1994 and 1995 agreements should be strictly maintained, as well as the agreements reached during the negotiations should be implemente, which mainly relate to the installation of investment mechanisms of incidents, expanding the Office of the personal representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and increasing his monitoring capacities. The implementation of these actions will create a constructive environment to continue the negotiations.
-The issue of bringing Artsakh to the negotiation table has repeatedly voiced. Will Artsakh’s involvement solve any issue in case when one of the main factors hindering the progress of negotiations is that Azerbaijan refuses to implement the agreements reached previously aimed at forming trust between the sides, installing investigative mechanisms in the line of contact?
-Artsakh’s return to the negotiation table derives from the logic of the conflict settlement. Being as one of the main sides of the conflict recognized by the OSCE documents Artsakh should be directly involved in the negotiation process. I want to remind that the main achievements in the settlement process were recorded during the period when Artsakh was directly involved in the negotiations. In particular, the 1994 trilateral ceasefire agreement remains the only tangible achievement of the peaceful settlement process of the Karabakh conflict.
Azerbaijan’s refusal from the negotiations involving Artsakh is one of the components of Baku’s policy directed for the failure of the settlement process. The restoration of trilateral negotiations will demonstrate the political will and honest interest of the Azerbaijani leadership aimed at reaching the final settlement of the conflict. The return of the Artsakh delegation to the negotiation table will not only restore the disrupted format of the dialogue, but also will increase the effectiveness of the peace process. Artsakh’s full participation in all rounds...
Read full story
