Armenian FM on Karabakh ceasefire agreement reached in Moscow
10.10.2020,
13:24
Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan unveiled today the key aspects of a ceasefire agreement, reached in the Russia-mediated talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow.
YEREVAN, October 10. /ARKA/. Armenia's Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan unveiled today the key aspects of a ceasefire agreement, reached in the Russia-mediated talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow.
The deal, reached after many hours of talks was set to take effect at 12 p.m. local time on October 10. It will allow the sides for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of people who have been killed in clashes over the last two weeks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, with the participation of the ICRC.
The parties also confirmed the invariability of the format of the negotiation process vowing to begin substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.
"It was a difficult process. The primary task for us was to reach an agreement to put an end to this aggression," Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia after the talks.
He recalled that the peculiarity of the situation lies in the fact that Azerbaijan was supported openly by Turkey and the international terrorist groups.
Mnatsakanyan stressed that the situation in the region remains rather unstable. "We need to achieve a ceasefire, as it was a rather serious challenge both for the region and for Nagorno-Karabakh, in the first place. And it would be impossible to talk about any progress without putting an end to this situation," the minister said.
"It was necessary to confirm that the Minsk Group is the only internationally recognized platform for negotiations and the peace process. And any other force, in particular, Turkey, cannot play any role," he stressed.
Mnatsakanyan highly appreciated the active role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, in particular, statements at the level of the presidents and foreign ministers of the co-chairing countries, individual steps of the presidents.
"In this regard, the statements on behalf of the President of France, the President and the Secretary of US Department of State played a role. It was very important to show the degree of concern and involvement in the situation. But I want to emphasize the role played by the Russian Federation and its President. In this regard he made his personal contribution," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.
In his words, an attempt is now being made to obtain real, practical results from the dialogue that continued between the President of the Russian Federation with the Prime Minister of Armenia and between the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, and to achieve their implementation.
Mnatsakanyan said it was very important to fix the ceasefire mechanisms and exclude the possibility of resumption of hostilities.
He pointed out that the text of the agreement provides, point by point, the steps which must be done to stabilize the situation in the region, restore the security system for the population of Artsakh and continue the peace process, which is the primary goal for the Armenian side.
Mnatsakanyan also touched upon the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. "All this (military actions - ed.) has again emphasized that our concern about the physical safety of the people of Karabakh is completely justified. It is for this reason that the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh was and is a priority for us in the peace process," he said.
He stressed that the recognition of the right of the people of Karabakh to self-determination and its implementation is of particular importance for the Armenian side.
"It is important to fix that the population of Karabakh must live freely and manage their lives and destiny by themselves in the status of a unit that would be recognized by everyone as an independent state in every sense," Mnatsakanyan said. -0-
The deal, reached after many hours of talks was set to take effect at 12 p.m. local time on October 10. It will allow the sides for the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of people who have been killed in clashes over the last two weeks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, with the participation of the ICRC.
The parties also confirmed the invariability of the format of the negotiation process vowing to begin substantive negotiations with the aim of achieving a peaceful settlement as soon as possible.
"It was a difficult process. The primary task for us was to reach an agreement to put an end to this aggression," Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia after the talks.
He recalled that the peculiarity of the situation lies in the fact that Azerbaijan was supported openly by Turkey and the international terrorist groups.
Mnatsakanyan stressed that the situation in the region remains rather unstable. "We need to achieve a ceasefire, as it was a rather serious challenge both for the region and for Nagorno-Karabakh, in the first place. And it would be impossible to talk about any progress without putting an end to this situation," the minister said.
"It was necessary to confirm that the Minsk Group is the only internationally recognized platform for negotiations and the peace process. And any other force, in particular, Turkey, cannot play any role," he stressed.
Mnatsakanyan highly appreciated the active role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship, in particular, statements at the level of the presidents and foreign ministers of the co-chairing countries, individual steps of the presidents.
"In this regard, the statements on behalf of the President of France, the President and the Secretary of US Department of State played a role. It was very important to show the degree of concern and involvement in the situation. But I want to emphasize the role played by the Russian Federation and its President. In this regard he made his personal contribution," the Armenian Foreign Minister said.
In his words, an attempt is now being made to obtain real, practical results from the dialogue that continued between the President of the Russian Federation with the Prime Minister of Armenia and between the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, and to achieve their implementation.
Mnatsakanyan said it was very important to fix the ceasefire mechanisms and exclude the possibility of resumption of hostilities.
He pointed out that the text of the agreement provides, point by point, the steps which must be done to stabilize the situation in the region, restore the security system for the population of Artsakh and continue the peace process, which is the primary goal for the Armenian side.
Mnatsakanyan also touched upon the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh. "All this (military actions - ed.) has again emphasized that our concern about the physical safety of the people of Karabakh is completely justified. It is for this reason that the safety of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh was and is a priority for us in the peace process," he said.
He stressed that the recognition of the right of the people of Karabakh to self-determination and its implementation is of particular importance for the Armenian side.
"It is important to fix that the population of Karabakh must live freely and manage their lives and destiny by themselves in the status of a unit that would be recognized by everyone as an independent state in every sense," Mnatsakanyan said. -0-
