“One-sided is not possible. Armenians should be able to return to Baku and Gandzak,” said the Foreign Minister of Artsakh
“It is obvious that in the form of Azerbaijan, we have a country that likely won’t give up at least one millimeter of land voluntarily to anyone. It has no basis for any historical or national ambitions in those territories, but it clings to them,” Foreign Minister of Artsakh Davit Babayan said at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences on February 12, referring to the question on the de-occupation of Shushi and Hadrut. “De-occupation has always been on our agenda because before that, other territories of Artsakh were also occupied. Now most of the area is like that. It is obvious that if we want to achieve the goal, we can, if we have a strong country again. I am sure that we will have a strong country because all the preconditions are there. It depends on us how we will work. I do not want to say toasts. We will never give up our territories.” During the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh Davit Babayan, one of those present asked about the issue of the population displaced from the settlements occupied as a result of the war.
“We always raise our voices. One of our arguments is that the return of refugees can happen in two cases․ First, when all political issues are resolved.” He stressed, “By saying a solution to a political issue, we imagine the recognition of Artsakh by Azerbaijan. Second, it should not be one-sided․ That is, Armenians should have the opportunity to return to Baku and Gandzak. If that does not happen, then they can not. Added to this was the problem of a new wave of refugees, the protection of the rights of those people. The issue has always been and will remain on our agenda. It is important from humanitarian and political points of view.”
One of those present was also interested in the opportunities for Artsakh to return to the negotiating table. Davit Babayan stressed that it is a necessity, but it does not depend only on us. “Azerbaijan does its best not to have anything to do with us. At first, they failed the full negotiation format. Artsakh has never been left out of the negotiation process; we just do not participate in the meetings at the highest level since ’96. Until 2007-08, we participated in the meetings with a secondary status, but after Aliyev came to power, this format was also consistently frozen. We are working in that direction. This simply should not be an end in itself. If we become stronger, we will restore it.” In a conversation with journalists, Davit Babayan referred to the project “On the Occupied Territories of Artsakh” authored by the Artsakh parliamentary factions. “It will be a very important document. It is our vision, it is important from the historical, political, and moral points of view. The law will be comprehensive. We will still have many opportunities to talk about it.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
