At a press conference held today, Heritage Party Deputy Stepan Safaryan, commenting on Karabakh conflict settlement negotiations, noted that the growing bellicose statements by Azerbaijan are indeed a cause for concern. "Today, the ever increasing war mongering statements emanating from Azerbaijan are a cause for some concern. It is also interesting that Azerbaijani Ambassador Byulbyul-Oghli said in Russia that it is necessary to force peace upon Armenians in Karabakh. Such statements should not go unanswered by the Armenian diplomatic corps, especially since they violate the Maindorf Agreement." Deputy Safaryan also emphasized the importance of Turkey's growing role in the issue and the fact that Russia granted it such a status as a result of the previous agreements. He added that during recent years both Turkey and Azerbaijan have proven to the West that blackmail lies at the heart of their foreign policy and that they cannot serve as reliable partners. "In the situation that has been created, Armenia has taken on added significance in the sense that, both in terms of Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azeri relations, it would appear that Armenia is viewed as the primary factor to rein them in. Given such a situation, it would be a huge crime if Armenia didn’t take advantage of this confluence of factors and solve some of its most pressing security issues. If Armenia actually took the initiative it can achieve much in reinforcing its position in the region," he said. Regarding the statements coming out of Baku regarding a possible resumption of warfare, Deputy Safaryan stated that Azerbaijan lacked the necessary forces to be confident of a military victory this time around. "Thus, I believe that Azerbaijan is not in any position to declare war and all those threats that it is making are premeditated. We shouldn't take them seriously. But I would also be lying if I said that I didn't perceive any threat at all," noted the Heritage Party MP. Deputy Safaryan also stated that he believed President Sargsyan would travel to Turkey this fall regardless of whether the border was opened or not.