Armenian PM: Ex-presidents recognise Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that former Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan Sargsyan recognised Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan made the statement in the Armenian parliament on June 15, Caliber.Az reports with reference to the Armenian media.

"Throughout the history of the negotiation process, Kocharyan and Sargsyan and their political satellite Dashnaktsutsyun recognised Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and were not guided by the principle 'Karabakh will never be part of Azerbaijan'," he said.

According to Pashinyan, on November 25, 1998, the Armenian authorities, led by Robert Kocharyan, agreed to accept as the basis of the negotiation process a proposal for a "common state" in which "Karabakh is a republican-type state entity, which together with the Republic of Azerbaijan constitute a single state within its internationally recognised borders".

"They (the former authorities – ed.) not only did not rule out that Karabakh could be part of Azerbaijan but agreed with the key logic of the negotiation package, according to which Karabakh should be part of Azerbaijan," Pashinyan said.

"After the idea of a 'common state', the issue of the exchange of territories was on the negotiating table. The essence of this project was that Armenia receives Karabakh, and in return gives Meghri District to Azerbaijan," Pashinyan said.

Yerevan's agreement to discuss this option, according to Pashinyan, meant that Armenia recognised Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan at that time.