Armenia is ready to resume the process of Nagorno-Karabakh regulation in accordance with the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group dated April 13, Acting Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said during a government session on Thursday.
“Azerbaijan is trying to create the impression that Armenia is against peace and against a peace agreement. However, Armenia has welcomed the statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs dated April 13 several times. I would like to remind you that three well-known principles form the basis of the Karabakh conflict: the people’s self-determination, the unacceptability of using force or threatening force, and territorial integrity,” he said.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory that had been part of Azerbaijan before the Soviet Union break-up, but primarily populated by ethnic Armenians, broke out in February 1988 after the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its withdrawal from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Tensions boiled over in 1992-1994 and exploded into large-scale military action for control over the enclave and seven adjacent territories after Azerbaijan lost control of them. Talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement have been ongoing since 1992 under the OSCE Minsk Group, led by its three co-chairs – Russia, France, and the United States. The group also includes Belarus, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
TASS
