Yerevan cannot recognize Abkhazia, Ossetia until it recognizes NK

Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Kosovo are precedents for Armenia, President Serzh Sargsyan said in his interview to the Ekho Moskvy Russian radio station.

“We cannot recognize Abkhazia, Ossetia and Kosovo until we recognize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. No one will understand us. A question emerges then – and why not to recognize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic? Because it will be our last step. We will recognize Karabakh if Azerbaijan launches military operations,” President said.

“We do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh, Nagorno Karabakh Republic de jure as we hold talks. If we recognize Karabakh, there is no need to negotiate. And if we negotiate, we cannot recognize similar countries. To speak honestly, we play openly, and we have repeatedly stated it,” S. Sargsyan said.

Speaking about relations between Russia and Georgia, S. Sargsyan expressed hope for their improvement.

“I don’t know, maybe I wish normalization of their relations more than Georgia and Russia themselves. I very much wish normalization of their relations. There have always been problems but, nevertheless, the relations will be normalized, I am convinced,” Armenia’s President stated.