- Mr. Tovmasyan, first of all, let's refer to the border situation in Armenia, please. What are the views and concerns in Artsakh?

- All night long, we were concerned about the current situation in the border regions of Armenia. Early in the morning I got in touch with the President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan, he was also worried. It is good that the Armenian army controls our state borders. Hopefully, the situation will calm down quickly.

-Your recent interview to our agency turned into a subject of wide discussion. The politician Ruben Mehrabyan responded, noting that you have always stood out with your positions and never pursued a goal to make the interests of Artsakh serve the interests of a third country. The website lragir.am referred to the interview, noting that you were not afraid and told the truth. Will you respond to these observations?

- Political scientist Ruben Mehrabyan rightly noted that I have always stood out because I have never conditioned the interests of Artsakh with the interests of a third country. I also did not please the leaders of Armenia and Artsakh.

- The politician Ruben Mehrabyan thinks that opinions are not homogeneous in Artsakh, there are different approaches. That's about the approaches of the heads of state structures. I would recommend to the heads of these state structures be engaged in the functions of their spheres. Because both the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Artsakh are told what needs to be done in the negotiation process, and they carry out their functions. I have said and I insist, that the negotiation process should start in the negotiation format of the OSCE Minsk Group. I also spoke about the occupied territories and the cultural genocide. The fate of prisoners of war, missing persons and forcibly displaced people is also very important for us, but they must be resolved within the framework of the November 9, 2020 declaration.

As for the claims of the lragir.am website that the Republic of Artsakh National Assembly President was not afraid, he told the truth, I must admit that the fear chip was removed from my brain a long time ago.

- Mr. Tovmasyan, you spoke earlier about establishing an Artsakh commission in the RA parliament. Artur Vanetsyan also came up with such an initiative yesterday. Do you see such a need at the moment?

- First of all, congratulations to all the political forces that passed the parliament. I must admit, that the doors of the National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic are open for all 105 deputies. There is no opposition or pro-government deputy for me. I think that the deputies and factions of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia do not have time to delay anymore. Every second is precious to build or shape our future. Every deputy has something to say and do in this difficult period for the country.

When Zaruhi Postanjyan was still an MP, I told her that one deputy should not raise the issue of recognizing Artsakh. I thought that all the 131 deputies should have been in favor of the recognition of the Artsakh Republic. I was told, whether I wanted Artsakh to be recognized to start the war again. It has not been recognized, but there was the April 2016 war, the bloody autumn of 2020. In 44 days, we grew old for 44 years. Every day could be considered an era.

No need to prove anything. During the first convocation there was a commission on Artsakh issues. Yes, at that time there were also deputies elected from Artsakh. In fact, a new reality has appeared in our work style. Before the war, in September, we had a very good discussion in the RA National Assembly. We had verbal agreements with former NA President Ararat Mirzoyan, on how we should build our work. Now it is a new reality. I personally wanted to suggest, if not a permanent, then at least an ad hoc commission, until the issue of the status of Artsakh is resolved. In this respect, parliamentary diplomacy is very free. The issue should be settled by the executive and the National Assembly should deal with the recognition process.

According to the Treaty of Alexandropoulos, Turkey stated that Armenia did not need to keep an army. We now hear the same from the President of Azerbaijan that Artsakh has no right to keep an army, because there is peace. I would use the word "silence" instead of the word peace, because long-term peace requires political solutions, which must be presented by the OSCE Minsk Group.

I should mention that the Artsakh issue is different from all conflicts. The United States, for example, have reservations in connection with the problems of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russia - with Kosovo. But the Karabakh conflict is the only one where those countries do not have disagreements. By mentioning that Azerbaijan has few trump cards in the negotiation process, I mean that before September 26, 2020, our authorities had those few trump cards. To win a war does not mean to win in diplomacy! All dignified forms of struggle are acceptable, sometimes we give up when we had to resist. It's better to be blind than brainless.