CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 49

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
room for misinterpretations,” 4 Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on
March 2019 at a joint session of the Security Council of Armenia and
Artsakh in Stepanakert. That means that the negotiations were continuing
based on interpretations of the previous package, the Madrid Principles,
without a new document.
One of the major changes in the overall context of the negotiation
process was Armenia’s goal to return to a full-fledged negotiation process
as soon as possible. The issue was raised with a new emphasis. Armenian
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this for the first time in
Stepanakert in 2018 during a press conference on May 9: "I am ready to
negotiate fully on behalf of the Republic of Armenia, but the Artsakh
authorities should negotiate on behalf of the Republic of Artsakh
presented by the President of the Artsakh Republic.” 5 This point was also
included in the government’s program. "As a key party to the conflict,
Artsakh must have a decisive voice and involvement in the settlement
process aimed at establishing genuine and lasting peace," the
government's plan reads.
As a justification for the claim, the Prime Minister used the thesis
that the population of Artsakh did not vote for him, so he is not
authorized to represent Artsakh in the negotiation process. The elected
authorities of Artsakh should do so.
However, this approach was resisted by Azerbaijan. So far, it has
not been possible to make the stated goal more achievable in practice. At
the same time, Azerbaijan used the moment to promote the
intercommunity approach of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and began to voice the need for the so-called "Azerbaijani
community of Nagorno-Karabakh" to participate in the negotiations. The
career diplomat Tural Ganjaliev was appointed the head of that structure,
which, according to former OSCE Minsk Group co-chair Kerry Cavano,
is already included in the Azerbaijani delegation that negotiates.
"Although Baku has stated that the format of the talks should remain
unchanged, I have nevertheless noticed that Baku has changed the list of

4
“RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s remarks on the joint session of the Security
Councils of Armenia and Artsakh in Stepanakert”, last modified March 12, 2019,
https://www.primeminister.am/en/Artsakh-visits/item/2019/03/11/Nikol-Pashinyan-visit-
to-Stepanakert/ (accessed September 25, 2019).
5 “Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s press conference in Stepanakert”, last modified May 9,
2018, https://www.primeminister.am/en/interviews-and-press-conferences/item/2018/05
/09/Prime-Minister-Nikol-Pashinyans-press-conferance/ (accessed September 25, 2019).
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