Question: Minister, what is the significance of this holiday for you?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: The symbolism of the Victory is in the power of spirit, because all of us have grandparents and relatives who have somehow participated in it. We all know how great was the contribution of Armenia and the Armenian people to the Great Victory, and that spirit is transmitted from one generation to another.

Question: The need of Armenia-Artsakh strategic alliance is among the top subjects for discussions these days. Do you see the need of signing such an alliance, and if there is a collection of signatures,  would you join it as a citizen or as a Minister?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: I think before the final decision every question needs to be carefully and thoroughly investigated, public discussions need to be conducted by taking into consideration many circumstances.

Question: Does this actually mean that You refrain from expressing your position on the matter?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Apparently, we have very strong, very deep bonds with Artsakh concerning all the aspects, which are based on the principle that Nagorno Karabakh is the homeland for our compatriots, a place where they live. And I have repeatedly noted that our compatriots are not a collective theoretical concept - they are real people with their security issues, and Armenia has been and remains the only guarantor of the security of people of Artsakh. In this regard, how do we address this important task, which tools do we use? This has always been an issue and remains so.

Question: Does it also concern the legal framework?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: That's why I am saying that we already have enough tools, great tools to guarantee the security of Nagorno-Karabakh. This is an ongoing work, and we will consider and evaluate all the new tools - now it's time for evaluation.

Question: On April 15, you issued a joint statement on the reduction of tension in the region within the context of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but the recent situation in the border during last weeks attests to …

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Indeed, it is very worrying, and of course, we carefully observe the situation, certainly, we use all forms and all necessary steps to maintain the control over the situation and ensure the non-violation of our agreements.

Question: Has the last arrangement been violated?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: There was a very dangerous development, and we do our best to control the agreements we managed to achieve.

Question: Recently Prime Minister Pashinyan has been stating that the position of people on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement should also be understood, people should express what they want. How do you see the engagement of the people in the negotiation process?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Excuse me, if this is your understanding, then you are mistaken. I will just ask you to pay more attention on how the systems work. Do you think that when the Prime Minister says the people should give an answer, that means that people should sit around the negotiation table? There is a Government, the Government has its mandate, the mandate is given by the people through elections; the Government operates within its mandates, the Government can not do anything that violates that very mandate. The Government has undertaken responsibility based on the popular mandate and will lead the negotiations up to the end.

Question: Mr. Mnatsakanyan, how can you find out the position of people - via referendums or in some other way?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: We are not at that stage yet, we do not have the means to understand how our public opinion works in our society, moreover, in a society which is institutionally more developed than it might seem and is much more advanced, so we have various ways to see the expression of people’s will.

Question: From which stage should we try to understand?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: It is difficult to tell, now we know that the Government has its own responsibility to negotiate and seek for a format and forms of peaceful settlement, and in this regard, the Government has a responsibility. I do not think now it's time to go into details now.

Question: Mr. Pashinyan often talks about it, and it is natural questions raise.

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: The Prime Minister speaks about the principle because there have been instances of assumptions that there is a process which might be separated from the people. How can that be? In our society, in our country, the Government expresses the will of the people through elections, and based on people’s will, people’s mandate it assumed the responsibility.

Question: The Prime Minister will be in Brussels in the coming days, is it possible that he might have a meeting with the President of Azerbaijan?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Nothing is planned yet.

Question: Foreign diplomats were also present at the event. What was their impression? What did they say about the event?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: They said that this event is not only for performing some official functions, but this is an expression of true spirit, the spirit of victory, joy and tribute to all those who participated in the war. That significance is natural, and we have a very deep sense of it and we will pass it through the generations.

Question: Mr. Mnatsakanyan, the signature gathering with regards to creating Armenia-Artsakh strategic alliance has already started, how would you assess this?

Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: I have already spoken about it, I would refrain from any comments because, as I said, Armenia and Artsakh have a clearly defined and deep system. Armenia has been and remains the only guarantor of the security of Artsakh. For us, all of us, all Armenians, Artsakh has been and remains a security issue, the issue of security for our 150,000 compatriots, and we are the guarantor. We have various ways and tools to express and ensure that function of a guarantor and we will complement it with various new tools and strengthen it, as a permanent and continuous process. How to do it in a reasonable way is a subject of discussion yet.