Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday said that Armenia is not in a position to “decide the fate” of the people of Artsakh, adding the authorities in Stepanakert must support direct dialogue with Baku.

“Our position is that Armenia cannot decide the fate of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and it follows the logic that Nagorno-Karabakh’s representatives themselves must be a party to negotiations, dialogue [with Azerbaijan,]” Pashinyan said at a news conference on Tuesday.

“This is the agenda that we are furthering, bearing in mind that the rights and security of Nagorno-Karabakh should be discussed with the participation of Nagorno-Karabakh’s representatives in the format of a Baku-Stepanakert dialogue and within the framework of an international mechanism. And I think that the people, the representatives, the government of Nagorno-Karabakh will have an opportunity to address all issues preoccupying them within the framework of this formula,” added Pashinyan.

He said that there are no concrete proposals to the international mechanism, but contended that the leadership of Artsakh itself must be actively involved in providing suggestions and options for such a discussion.

While attempts have been made in the past for representatives of Artsakh and Azerbaijan to discuss issues related to the ongoing blockade, the Baku representatives quickly turned those talks into efforts to pressure the people of Artsakh to become subordinate to Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan was asked whether a resolution to the Karabakh conflict should be incorporated into a final peace agreement and he said that his government “has not made such a decision.”

“It is something to think about whether the possible peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan should refer to Nagorno Karabakh, for example a comprehensive solution, or whether the issues related to the rights and security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh should be addressed through a different approach. At this time we don’t have a decision on the matter,” Pashinyan said.

The issue of Baku’s push to provide humanitarian assistance to Artsakh through Aghdam, completely bypassing Armenia, and the support that notion received from European Union leaders last week was also discussed during the press conference.

Pashinyan said that during his meeting with President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan earlier this month in Brussels he did not discuss the Aghadm matter because, the prime minister claimed, he “does not have the mandate” to engage in such discussions.

Pashinyan said that he only has the mandate to address the Lachin Corridor situation as the issue in part of the November 9, 2020 agreement, which he has signed.

The prime minister also addressed Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan declaration of Artsakh as a disaster zone and his urging that Armenia refrain from recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.

“Saying that the Armenian government must be barred from recognizing Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity effectively means banning Azerbaijan from recognizing Armenia’s territorial integrity or … contributing to the Azerbaijani policy of not recognizing Armenia’s territorial integrity,” Pashinyan said. “I am the prime minister of 29,800 square kilometers,” he said, referring to Armenia’s total territorial area.