FM: Karabah will remain de facto independent until conflict resolved

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) will maintain its status as a de facto independent and sovereign country until a final settlement is reached, Foreign Minister Davit Babayan told a press conference on Monday, June 20, Pastinfo reports.

Babayan said the loss of Artsakh will lead to unpredictable and fundamental changes in the geopolitical landscape, resulting in a completely different global balance in the region. According to him, if there is no Nagorno-Karabakh, Pan-Turkism will become the "dominant current" in the South Caucasus.

The diplomat believes the status of Artsakh is a complicated process, which means no immediate solution can be expected.

"We must be realistic and we have to understand that the final, comprehensive settlement of the status of Artsakh is still a matter of the distant future, so we must preserve Artsakh by all possible means," Babayan said.

"So even if there is no comprehensive settlement, Artsakh will maintain its status as a de facto independent and sovereign country until we see what happens in the future."

Babayan noted that it is going be difficult to reach a quick settlement of the conflict, but being a part of Azerbaijan or depending on Baku is a red line for Karabakh.

Earlier, RIA Novosti removed an interview with Nagorno-Karabakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan after authorities in Azerbaijan blocked the news website. Beglaryan said Russian peacekeepers should remain in the region, as Azerbaijan is not ready to hold negotiations based on three principles proposed by international mediators – territorial integrity, the right of nations to self-determination and non-use of force or threat of use of force.