Artsakh has nothing to "lower", it has redlines it will never cross -  David Babayan

ArmInfo.Artsakh has nothing to "lower". It has the redlines that it will never cross, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan stated at a  Facebook conference held by the Azatutyun Radio in response to a  question about a need to agree to a lower status for  Nagorno-Karabakh. 

In response, he said: "And who is the international community? The  concept of international community is most sophisticated. One of the  members of the international community, Azerbaijan, claims no bars at  all exist nor is there a Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Another member of  the international community, Armenia, is saying: here is Artsakh. The  international has not nor can it have a common opinion on the issue,  especially now that the world has entered the era of barefaced  geopolitics," Mr Babayan said. The concepts of human rights or  democracy are being disregarded, he added. 

Some of the western countries are overtly supporting Azerbaijan,  others are indifferent and still others are supporting the Armenian  side.   

In this context, Mr Babayan highlighted the importance of reasonable  reckoning and balanced actions in defense of Armenian national  interests. 

"You see that we have no room for lowering the bar. Why was the  international community silent for the 44 days when we were being  massacred? We must defend our interests instead of thinking of  getting dividends from some states or others. We have nothing to  lower, we have redlines. There is no turning back," Mr Babayan said. 

He calls for understanding Azerbaijan's nature. Why is Azerbaijan  refusing to recognize Artsakh now? It has much more now that it once  dreamt of, does it not? This conflict has no solution or a balance of  forces is a solution. 

The international community is divided. It is not any longer  controlled by one or two centers, as it is a multipolar world now. 

As to Russia's position, Mr Babayan recalled Russia's explicit  statement - a more explicit that the ones by the United States and  France (the two other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs). Specifically,  Moscow stated that border delimitation and demarcation between  Armenia and Azerbaijan has nothing in common with Nagorno-Karabakh,  which is right.   

As to the possibility of Artsakh applying for joining Russia, Mr  Babayan said Stepanakert's only agenda is retaining Artsakh's  statehood and having it recognized. 

As to why Artsakh is not joining Armenia, Mr Babayan noted that  joining Armenia remains a top priority.  "But the rules of  geopolitics turn out to be such. Azerbaijan did its best to present  the conflict as a territorial one, but we had not the necessary  potential to make our voice heard." The world is dominated by  geopolitical interests and biased approaches, with "some allowed and  others prohibited." 

Speaking in Parliament this, Armenia's premier said:   "The  international community is telling us straightforwardly now:  being  the world's only country refusing to recognize Turkey's ally  Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is a great threat not only to  Artsakh, but also to Armenia. The international community is telling  us again now: request a lower status for Nagorno-Karabakh, and you  will enjoy international unanimity on Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise,  we request you not to hope for us not because we are unwilling to  help, but because we are unable to."