YEREVAN. Oct 23 (Interfax) - It is impossible to change the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiating format, which Baku insists on, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in an interview with Interfax.
When asked about a possibility to change the negotiating format through engaging Turkey as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Pashinyan said, "This is a stage position, because a statement of the foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was adopted in Moscow, and it clearly states that the format of co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group will not change. The negotiations must continue in this format."
"I am saying that Azerbaijan changes its position every time. This issue was agreed on in Moscow by the joint statement, but two days after Azerbaijan once again said that Turkey should be a co-chair. It seemed that the issue was solved, the statement was adopted, the issue is closed, but it is opening again. How can these works be made fruitful in these conditions, if Azerbaijan changes already agreed on positions and issues?" he said.
However, opportunities for Armenian-Turkish reconciliation are not lost, he said. "We have always said that Armenia is ready for establishing diplomatic relations without preconditions. Of course, these events and war add tensions in relations, but we are ready for any diplomatic discussions with Azerbaijan, just as with Turkey," Pashinyan said.