tend to be more effective , being more open to the negotiation process , more flexible and adaptive that allows them to move the negotiation process forward , while other leaders , due to their high level of anxiety , suspicions , being more reserved , etc . can take such positions in the negotiation process that would stagnate and prevent progress ( Irragori 2011 , 97 ).
The international environment can also impact the positions declared by the leaders in the negotiation process , and changes in the international context can also lead to the altering of the declared positions of state leaders , who would review their attitude due to the transforming international environment ( Kremenyuk 1988 , 215 ).
The actions of enemies can also impact the declared positions of the leaders . If the adversary takes a harsh position and does not demonstrate any willingness to negotiate , the leader involved in the negotiation process can also declare about the stagnation of the negotiations and no prospects for progress . If the adversaries hesitate to act according to the points negotiated and act in such a way that their words and deeds come in a conflict , the leaders can start to change their attitude ( Bailer 2010 , 748 ). Thus , in academia there is a strong understanding of the crucial role of the leaders in the negotiation process and the factors that can impact their negotiation style . However , while examining the existing literature , it became apparent that issues such as how the publicly stated positions of the leaders can impact the negotiation process are not broadly discussed in academia and deserve careful study .
In the case of Pashinian , the role that his publicly declared statements related to the Karabakh issue played in the negotiation process has not been thoroughly studied . The correlations between his initial ( mainly pre 2020 Karabakh War ) and post-war positions on Karabakh were also not broadly discussed . That is why this paper focuses on filling the existing gaps in academia .
Methodology
The qualitative method of content analysis was applied for this research . The publicly declared statements of Armenia`s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the Karabakh issue were carefully studied . 14 speeches of Nikol Pashinian from January 2018 to 2021 March on Karabakh from the official website of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia , 8 newspaper articles informing about Pashinian ’ s statements on foreign policy issues from Armenian and other Russian and international outlets and the 2020 Joint Statement on Karabakh were analysed . The purposive sampling was applied to select the articles and speeches for the
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