“The primary goal of Armenia regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is that the people of Artsakh are recognized to have the right to self-determination,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said to participates of a youth camp on Tuesday, reports Armenpress.am.
Answering a question about conflict settlement based on mutual concessions, Ohanian said that many nations around the globe have the right to self-determination, including the newly-independent state Kosovo. “Thus, the people of Artsakh have the right to self-determination in Armenian highlands, since it is their own historic homeland. If we rule out the self-determination of unification with Armenia, speaking of any other mutual concessions is senseless” he continued.
Ohanian stated that under the situation where Azerbaijan declines confidence-building mechanisms, tries to speak in the language of power, and makes Armenophobic announcements, speaking about mutual concessions makes no sense. “I have always said and now reiterate, if something happens to Artsakh, we will defend every single inch of it,” the Minister concluded.
On Monday, August 22, Ohanyan and Artsakh President Pago Sahagian visited the south-eastern border of Nagorno-Karabakh. And earlier that day, Sahakian met with Ohanian in Stepanakert to discuss issues related to expansion of the army and cooperation between the two Armenian states.