Armenian parliament vice speaker Eduard Sharmazanov on Monday, July 11 called for eliminating the causes of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, rather than its consequences.

According to him, President Serzh Sargsyan conveyed a series of clear messages during the NATO summit in Warsaw.

“We are absolutely in favor of peace, I mean long-term peace,” Sharmazanov said.

“First, both Armenia and Karabakh seek an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict, and we should prepare the society for peace, rather than war. Second, despite [Azeri leader Ilham] Aliyev’s declarations and local media reports, President Sargsyan made it clear that NATO is not the right platform for tackling the Karabakh conflict. So, all the attempts by Azerbaijan to move the issue to other platforms is unacceptable and contradicts the OSCE Minsk Group’s statements.”

According to Sharmazanov, the President’s third message calls for the implementation of agreements reached at summits in Vienna and Saint Petersburg.

“Azerbaijan must implement the decision to install mechanisms for investigating border incidents and expand the team of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office,” he said.

“The President directly pointed out that Armenia doesn’t benefit from the status quo. We believe the people of Karabakh are in charge of forging their destiny, so their right to self-determination must be recognized and respected. We should eliminate not the consequences, but the causes of the conflict."