Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry building

STEPANAKERT—The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of torpedoing the peace talks by imposing preconditions. In a written statement the Foreign Ministry also called for Karabakh’s inclusion in the talks, saying that was the only way to guarantee progress.

“Only through political dialogue with the equal participation of Karabakh is it possible to achieve progress in the negotiations on the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict resolution,” said the Foreign Ministry statement.

The statement was issued to express Stepanakert’s support for an announcement, which was made on Monday by the presidents of the US, France and Russia—Minsk Group co-chairing countries—on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. The presidential announcement urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to step up efforts to resolve the conflict.

“We have always had a positive attitude to initiatives aimed at a peaceful resolution to the conflict, taking into account all the principles of international law, and reaffirm our readiness to follow the appeals and recommendations of the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states,” the Ministry said in the statement.

“At the same time, we have to state that Azerbaijan continues to interpret the statement of the mediators in a manner favorable to itself and sets pre-conditions, thus torpedoing these initiatives. Azerbaijan continues to boycott the implementation of key confidence-building measures in the region, such as elaboration of corresponding mechanisms for investigating the incidents at the border, withdrawal of snipers from the contact-line, and other elements,” the statement added.

“Unfortunately, official Baku hasn’t refrained from its insistence of resolving the conflict through force. Azerbaijan, being a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the responsibilities of which include fighting for the security in the region, refuses to resolve the matter in a civilized manner,” said the statement.

The Karabakh Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the authorities of Azerbaijan will display a constructive approach and abandon their futile policy of military blackmail and sabotage threatening the fragile regional security and stability.

Meanwhile in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Aleksander Lukasevich praised the meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which took place on Monday in Paris.

He emphasized the importance of the meeting as a means to continue dialogue.

He said the Russian side positively assesses the Paris meeting from the point of view of continuation of the political dialogue between the parties to the conflict.

Lukashevich said that the Minsk Group Co-chairs will visit the region in July.