Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan expressed hope that the Russian peacekeepers will remain in Karabakh as long as possible, their presence means stability.
“Our task is to try to do as much as possible so that the peacekeepers remain in Karabakh longer. There are prerequisites that allow us to assume that this (presence of peacekeepers – ed.) will be more long-term”, – Grigoryan said in an interview to the Public Television of Armenia.
According to him, such prerequisites are the infrastructure being created in Karabakh and global processes.
“We are trying to understand how we will solve our long-term tasks. One of the main preconditions for solving long-term tasks is that peacekeepers continue to remain in Artsakh (Karabakh’s self-name – ed.). This is very important for us”, – Grigoryan said.
In his opinion, this is necessary to “stabilize the security environment”.
“The presence of peacekeepers means a certain stability. This is the best option, if peacekeepers help ensure security there, then we must work in this direction”, – the Security Council secretary said.
Answering a journalist’s question what Armenia will do if the peacekeepers leave Karabakh, Grigoryan stated that in this case, “it will be necessary to think about other decisions”.
At the end of September 2020, hostilities resumed in Nagorno-Karabakh, which became a continuation of a long-term conflict and led to casualties among the civilian population. The parties made several attempts to conclude a truce, but the tripartite agreement reached on the night of November 10 turned out to be successful.
With the mediation of Moscow, Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed to completely cease fire and exchange prisoners and bodies of the dead. Yerevan also handed over Kelbajar, Lachin and Aghdam districts to Baku. In addition, Russian peacekeepers are stationed in the region.