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“Building an independent, sovereign and strong state has always been the backbone of our state-building, our trinity with Armenia and the Diaspora, our commitment to democratic values and principles being among its pillars,” Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan said in his opening remarks at an international forum entitled "Cooperation for Justice and Peace” Forum of Artsakh Friends.

The Artsakh leader noted full-fledged security of Artsakh in all the dimensions is a must for the country’s authorities. 

“Even the slightest decline in our security will tempt our opponents to launch a new aggression which itself is pregnant with unpredictable consequences. For this very reason security issues are top priority in the negotiation process too,” Sahakyan stressed.

Drawing upon the negotiation process, the Artsakh president reaffirmed the country's commitment to peaceful settlement of relations with Azerbaijan around the negotiating table under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group.

“It should be mentioned that it is impossible to achieve real progress without the restoration of the full-fledged negotiation format with the direct participation of Artsakh. Obviously, the fate of Artsakh cannot be decided without its participation and there is no return to the past, both with respect to status and borders,” he stressed.

Bako Sahakyan emphasized that the event is distinguished both by its content and the participant list, since it is the first pro-Artsakh forum to bring together political, public, cultural figures, human rights activists, scientists, analysts and journalists from different countries who support Artsakh.

“We are grateful to you for all the painstaking work you carry out, we highly appreciate your pursuits and are glad to have friends like you,” the president said.

Sahakyan added the principles of balanced and multi-vectored approach remain at the root of the Artsakh foreign policy. “Maintaining equally good-neighborly relations with Europe, the USA, Russia as well as regional states is a foreign strategy imperative for us,” he said.