“I do not think we should respond to every crazy statement. This is neither the first nor the last such statement. Such statements are made not only by the former foreign ministers, but also by the incumbent president, the heads of nurseries and kindergarten students. We will not say every time, we always state our position, we never have any intention to give up that position. Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan. This is unequivocal,” Artsakh’s Foreign Minister Davit Babayan responded to former Azeri Foreign Minister Mammadyarov’s statement that Armenians living in Karabakh should receive Azerbaijani citizenship in a conversation with Aravot.
In response to our observation that various representatives of the ruling power of the Republic of Armenia make statements that Artsakh is in fact part of Azerbaijan, Babayan answered, “We always declare that Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan, whoever wants to talk about it. Of course, it is painful when Armenians speak and make such statements. It does not matter what political force they belong to. I have always said that official Stepanakert should not be involved in internal political processes, taking into account that it should be sacred for everyone. I do not want it to be targeted by anyone, especially since there are people and forces, anti-Artsakh forces, who make such statements. A schizophrenic person says that Artsakh should be destroyed by a Bayraktar, and someone else says that people from Karabakh are Turks. We do not want them to bark again. We will not allow it. Regardless of who does what, Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan. The annexation of Artsakh to Azerbaijan means the destruction of both Artsakh and Armenian statehood. The destruction of Armenian statehood will happen a little later, but in a very rapid way.”
In response to our question of if he notices that the political course of the Armenian ruling force leads to the recognition of Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, Babayan answered, “Our destiny depends on us, the people. If the people find it unacceptable to be part of Azerbaijan, no one can lead us that way. Even if the whole world is against us, although the whole world is not against us.”
Arpine Simonyan
