Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has addressed Azerbaijan’s demand to dissolve the OSCE Minsk Group.
“We agree to dissolve the Minsk Group co-chairmanship with the following justification: if there is no conflict, what is the point of the format engaged in servicing it? But we want to make sure that the dissolution of the Minsk Group co-chairmanship means the same for Azerbaijan, and not that Azerbaijan intends to dissolve the Minsk Group co-chairmanship and then start a new conflict over the territories of Armenia based on forming territorial claims.”
According to him, if this prevents Azerbaijan from creating a conflict, then what is the point of dissolving the group? “If this means a green light for Azerbaijan to present and deepen territorial claims against Armenia, what is the point of this action?”
He added, “Is there any basis that Azerbaijan may have an intention? There are such grounds, and the most important of them is the phrase “Western Azerbaijan,” which is a direct encroachment on the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.
According to him, this is not only because Azerbaijan officially calls about 60% of the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia “Western Azerbaijan” but also because the concept of the organization with the corresponding name contains formulations that mean that anyone using this phrase does not recognize the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia by at least 60%.