It is interesting to note that Pashinian himself has numerously stated that the negotiation process was in a deadlock and being asked about Armenia ’ s interpretation of Madrid principles under his governance , refrained from answering , stating that :
“ Of course , we can present our own interpretation of these principles , but there will be no use , because our objective is not the engagement in a verbal dispute , but the efficient negotiation process ” ( The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia 2019 ).
Pashinian has also made it vocal that looking for compromise is not something that is being on the agenda for the Armenian government due to the unwillingness of Azerbaijan to accept bringing Artsakh back to the negotiation table . He stated that : “ I consider any discussion of compromise senseless ” ( The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia 2018 ).
Which significantly disrupted the sheer essence of the negotiation process aimed at finding compromises in the diplomatic domain in order not to be reduced to the situation of an intense armed conflict . This kind of framing of the negotiation process as a verbal dispute , signaling about the stagnation of the negotiation process and deadlock it ended up in , pointlessness of future talks and compromises have negatively impacted the negotiation process , making it even more irrelevant without any prospects of future breakthroughs . It is consequential that by discrediting and undermining the negotiation process stating its uselessness and irrelevance , the conflicting parties are prone to refer to war means in order to resolve the existing dispute , which happened in the Karabakh case .
It is also interesting to note that Pashinian ’ s initial criticism delivered to the former government of Armenia on the lack of transparency of the negotiation process could be used to characterise the negotiations under his governance as well . The existing opposition was strongly criticising Pashinian for keeping in secret the content of the informal talks between Aliyev and him , for example , after the Davos meeting when Pashinian refused to disclose the discussed issues ( Caucasian Knot 2019 ). Criticising the former government for keeping the negotiation process in secret , Pashinian coming to the power has promised that :
“ Should the talks result in a settlement that I would personally consider to be a good option , let no one think that I will sign any confidential paper or take any secret action . If I see that there is an option that needs discussing , I will come to you and give you the details of it , after which you will decide whether to accept the settlement or not ” ( The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia 2018 ).
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