Armenia’s economic development is impossible without resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of relations with Turkey, the first President of Armenia said.

“Maintenance of the current status quo will drive Armenia deeper into the crisis. With protraction of the Karabakh conflict settlement, the situation may go beyond control,” Levon Ter-Petrosyan said during the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement.

According to him, the conflict remains unsettled not because the sides can’t reach an agreement but because it’s not a priority task for the West.

Ter-Petrosyan also voiced confidence that the key to Armenian-Turkish reconciliation is in Russia’s hands.