“I do not consider the return of refugees to Nagorno-Karabakh realistic. Moreover, I think it is important to honestly tell people about this, because they need to build their perspectives and plans,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the PACE session.
Pashinyan described the very topic of refugee return as dangerous for the peace process.
“Conflicts, including the Karabakh conflict, began with the discussion of simple humanitarian issues and escalated into the long-standing conflict we all know. My understanding is that Armenia and Azerbaijan have recognized each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the inviolability of borders on the basis of the Alma-Ata Declaration, and we must focus on implementing this formula.
In the coming decades, Armenia and Azerbaijan must simply leave each other in peace and concentrate on building economic cooperation and step-by-step dialogue. As for our compatriots from Karabakh, they must settle in Armenia, and as citizens of Armenia live, create, and build their well-being in the Republic of Armenia. This is our strategy,” Pashinyan said.