Shavarsh Kocharyan: "Baku used negotiations as a veil for arming”

“Azerbaijan’s offensives in April proved to all that Baku used the negotiation process as a veil for arming and attempts to solve the issue by force for these 22 years, which was the main reason of maintaining the status quo in the conflict zone,” Shavarsh Kocharyan told Armenpress on the 22nd anniversary of the Agreement on Ceasefire signed by Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan on May 12, 1994.

The Deputy Foreign Minister noticed that the signing of the Agreement on Ceasefire of unlimited duration by Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan on May 12, 1994 was possible as Azerbaijani leadership udertook direct negotiations with NKR leadership.

“This proves that the negotiation process can move forward only if Nagorno-Karabakh has full participation in it,” stressed Shavarsh Kocharyan.

He reminded that maintaining the Ceasefire of 1994 is an international obligation for the sides, and Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and renewal of military actions on April 2-5 is also a gross violation of that obligation and an evident display of aggression.

“It’s completely comprehensible that Minsk Group Co-Chair states call for strict maintaning of the trilateral Agreement on Ceasefire of 1994 as the base of the negotiation process on peaceful settlement,” said Kocharyan.