Pashinyan: Those opposing Karki’s return to Azerbaijan are provoking war

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has warned that those who say they will not allow the settlement of Karki to be transferred to Azerbaijan are effectively provoking a war.

Pashinyan made the remarks during a briefing, stressing that the issue requires practical solutions on the ground rather than heightened tensions, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

“The second issue is how this problem will be resolved. Establishing the facts is one thing, while finding solutions on the ground is an entirely different matter. At present, there is no agreement, nor has there ever been one. Our task now is to eliminate the ‘nervous atmosphere’ surrounding this issue in order to reach normal solutions,” Pashinyan said.

He warned that the issue could become a source of escalation if tensions are allowed to grow.

“I see that this is an issue around which escalation could develop, but I am saying this in advance so that it does not happen,” the prime minister said.

Pashinyan added that the Armenian government’s position is that Tigranashen (Karki), in Armenia’s Ararat Province, “was and will remain,” while the question of its precise boundaries and geographical delineation constitutes a separate matter.

By Vafa Guliyeva