On maintaining the regime of cessation of fire

"The situation is very fragile. Starting from the morning [of October 10], large-scale military hostilities resumed, mainly in the southern direction. An attempt to penetrate to the city of Hadrut was made by the subversive group.  About 200 people were involved in the attack. They threw large forces into the battle in the direction of Jabrayil, trying to make any progress. And during all this time the attacks on the cities, particularly on Stepanakert, were ongoing. The shelling continued until morning, and continued also on Sunday. They shelled all day long today [Monday]."

"If we summarize, the situation with the cessation of hostilities is not unambiguous, but this opportunity should not be missed in any case. The first step is establishing cessation of hostilities for humanitarian purposes. After a long work, after the involvement of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs led by Russia, after the direct involvement of the Russian President (he made a huge effort to work with both sides - the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan) we managed to achieve that agreement with the mediation of Sergey Lavrov. And losing that is very dangerous. Consultations are being held with the Red Cross, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, and the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office. It is necessary to strengthen the ceasefire regime, not allowing the resumption of hostilities. And in this respect the verification mechanisms remain extremely important.

Regarding the further steps and the verification

"I will be very careful now, because it is very important to achieve that. Yes, the process of establishing verification mechanisms to maintain the regime of the cessation of hostilities is being discussed within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. In this context, Russia also plays a very effective role. Both Armenia and Artsakh have been and remain in favor of the establishment of verification mechanisms, but for many years we have been facing Azerbaijan's rejection to introduce any mechanisms to strengthen the ceasefire regime."

About the situation in Jabrayil

"Today it is not appropriate to talk about any control. There has been a breach of the positions of the Artsakh Defense Army forces, measures are being taken to prevent any advancement by the adversary, and the defense forces are pushing back the adversary. Positioning is underway.

During these two weeks, the enemy has used all its capabilities - air force, heavy artillery, tanks, infantry, UAVs, and all these with the direct and unconditional support of Turkey, which supplies military equipment, F-16 airplanes, provides command staff, air force command. Moreover, the presence of terrorists exported from Syria and Libya completely changes the context [of the conflict]. But during these two weeks, Artsakh has shown what protection means - what it means to protect one's life, home, land, family, historical homeland.

Regarding the negotiations of October 9-10 in Moscow

"Negotiations were about extremely complex and sensitive issues. There were multiple points with many different options: the range of issues to be outlined, the sequence of steps to be undertaken. It took 11 hours to agree on these four points, which were expressed in the joint statement. And here, I would like to underline the important role of Sergey Lavrov. I believe it would be better to refrain from commenting on the details at this stage. I find it more important the achievement of practical results now. There are issues on which we absolutely disagree with the Azerbaijani side, but what matters the most is that we all deal with this issue by utmost responsibility, with responsibility before our peoples".

Regarding the non-participation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiations process

"It is impossible to exclude Nagorno-Karabakh from the process, since the issue directly concerns Nagorno-Karabakh, concerns its population, which has its elected authorities. There are realities, whatever they may be called by the Azerbaijani propaganda. And this, by the way, is recognized by everyone, including the Co-Chairs and the sides: Artsakh has its voice. The fact that Artsakh is not at the negotiating table does not mean that we are not working with its representatives. However, if someone assumes that we’re calling to Artsakh and issuing them orders, then that someone has absolutely no idea about the realities of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, about our life and our relations. We cannot issue commands to Nagorno-Karabakh, but we can collaborate with them. It is impossible to imagine a situation when we decide something, agree on something in Yerevan and put it on the table without Nagorno-Karabakh's consent. For Azerbaijani propaganda, the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh's engagement has become so acute, since they want to portray this as an "Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict" by all means, where Artsakh does not even exist. However, the reality is absolutely different.”

Regarding Turkey’s role 

"Today there is a situation when it is being argued – even though it is difficult to imagine at all - that Turkey may play any role in the settlement process. Yes, Turkey is already playing an active role in the region. But it is only expressed in exporting its policy of aggressive destabilization to the South Caucasus, in its aggressive unilateral support to Azerbaijan, in the deployment of foreign terrorist fighters in the region. There is absolutely no need for such active participation for us, by no means we can accept it, let alone welcome it".

Regarding the recognition of NKR independence

"If you are talking about the international community, then the recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh is an important measure to ensure its security. Our vision of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue first and foremost includes ensuring the lasting, and sustainable security, existential physical security of our compatriots living there. Yerevan counts on the support and active participation of the international community to this regard. Today we are facing a difficult situation when Azerbaijan is actually pursuing a military settlement to the issue, when they have resorted not only to the threat of force but to the actual use of force, greatly undermining the peace process. Everything will be done for the sake of Nagorno-Karabakh's security. The recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence by the international community is an important step, an important instrument, an important measure towards ensuring its security.”

Regarding the further steps towards the conflict resolution

"We have always been consistent in insisting on exclusively peaceful resolution of the conflict. What is happening today, of course, is a huge damage to the peace process. But I believe that we are confident enough when it comes to our capabilities and we possess enough support from the international community to demand, to insist on the peaceful resolution.”