YEREVAN. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has not ruled out a counterterrorist cooperation in Nagorno-Karabakh, which could be of interest to Russia as well.
"First, it is necessary to address the issue of terrorists. Because, if they register successes here [in Nagorno-Karabakh], next they'll be going to the south and to the north. Because it is their job to terrorize, destabilize, and it makes no big difference for them where to do so," Pashinyan said in an interview with Interfax on Thursday.
Asked how that issue could be solved, he said: "For example, by conducting a counterterrorist operation. That's one option."
When asked to clarify whether such an operation could be carried out by forces of the Armenian side, the Armenian prime minister said: "No. The forces of Nagorno-Karabakh are doing it as far as possible. Right now, they are fighting on three fronts: against the army of Azerbaijan, against the army of Turkey, and against terrorists.
"But I think that this question is not only for me, because we, of course, do support anti-terrorist efforts as much as possible. I think that countries, whose national security is specifically threatened by this situation, should step in."
Asked whether Russia and Iran could be among such countries, Pashinyan said: "Of course, Russia's interests primarily are being affected. I want to draw your attention that during the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, there were at least two cases where anti-terrorist operations were conducted in North Caucasus and Russian officials said that those had arrived from Syria."
"Before that, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service stated that there were terrorists present in the conflict zone. And these two statements cannot be unrelated to one another. The question is, will Russian services be waiting for these terrorists to come or is it necessary to pursue a preemptive policy? If terrorists register a success in Nagorno-Karabakh, the next thing they will be seeking new footholds and areas of operation," Pashinyan said.
"The decision is up to Russian Federation. But on these issues we had consultations with Russian colleagues and we expressed our point of view," he said.