President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (Artsakh) Bako Sahakian received American Co-Chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group Robert Bradtke and his party who had arrived in Stepanakert the same day.
According to the information of the Central Information Department of the NKR President’s Office, a series of issues related to the current stage and prospects of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement were discussed at the meeting.
Bako Sahakian emphasized that the position of official Stepanakert on establishing relations with Azerbaijan remained unchanged: the conflict cannot be settled without a direct dialogue between Azerbaijan and Artsakh. In this connection, the head of state noted the necessity of Azerbaijan’s refusing of its unconstructive and militant rhetoric. The President emphasized that the independence and security of Artsakh were not subject to a bargain, and any attempt to ignore this made the comprehensive settlement of the conflict impossible.
In his turn, Robert Bradtke stated that any option of forced settlement of the conflict was absolutely unacceptable.
The process of establishing Armenian-Turkish relations was also discussed at the meeting. Both parties noted that the Armenian-Turkish and Azerbaijani-Karabakh relations were separate and unrelated processes.
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After the meeting with the head of state, the American mediator informed the journalists that he had arrived in the region within the preparation of a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents scheduled for that week and that he considered it important to learn the positions of Nagorno Karabakh’s population and leadership.
“The United States is firmly focused on achieving progress in the Karabakh conflict settlement process. I’d like to assure you that in the new year the USA will use all its efforts that the Karabakh people live a peaceful and prosperous life in the future”, said Robert Bradtke.
The American mediator noted that the leadership and people of Nagorno Karabakh should know about the negotiations between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents.
“We provide corresponding information about the negotiations' status and the subject of discussions», said Robert Bradtke.
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