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Lawyer Aram Orbelyan claims the talks about ethnic Armenians’ right to return to their homes in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) are “pointless”.

“It makes no sense to discuss the right to return because it has not been challenged by anyone – Armenia, Azerbaijan or the international community," he told a debate on Artsakh in Yerevan on Thursday.

Orbelyan, a former deputy justice minister, insisted on the creation of mechanisms for the execution of people’s right to return to their homes as a more fundamental issue.

"If after their return, they are going to face torture, discriminatory treatment and death, the exercise of other rights will not be ensured, so the right to return [to Artsakh] becomes something trivial," he explained.

The lawyer stressed the exercise of refugees’ right to return to Artsakh is closely linked to its status.

"Discussions about the right to return have to stop, and state bodies and civil society should instead speak about the possibility of their return and effective mechanisms for the exercise of this right,” he added.