By Heghine Buniatian and Artak Khulian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — Azerbaijan has made it clear that it will not agree to any special arrangements for guaranteeing the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population.
In an interview with Reuters news agency published on Friday, June 23, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov also indicated that Armenia should make more concessions in addition to recognizing Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh.
“The most fundamental is the following. this is an internal, sovereign issue,” he said. “The Azerbaijan constitution and a number of international conventions to which Azerbaijan is a party provide all the necessary conditions in order to guarantee the rights of this population.”
Yerevan has been pressing for an “international mechanism” of dialogue between Baku and the Karabakh Armenians during ongoing talks on an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday again called for the launch of such a mechanism while continuing to accuse Baku of “ethnic cleansing” in Karabakh.
Pashinyan pledged to recognize Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan after a recent meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held in Brussels. That was condemned by Karabakh’s leadership and the Armenian opposition. They say the restoration of Azerbaijani rule would only force the Karabakh Armenians to flee the territory.
