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Azerbaijan De Facto Recognized NKR Existence

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  • Azerbaijan De Facto Recognized NKR Existence

    Azerbaijan De Facto Recognized NKR Existence

    PanARMENIAN.Net
    20.09.2006 16:14 GMT+04:00

    /PanARMENIAN.Net/ "Although not recognized formally by any government,
    Karabakh's continued march to secure lasting independence is
    irreversible, Nagorno-Karabakh's representative to the United
    States, Vardan Barseghian said. "There is no going back for us,"
    he said. "Just because Stalin gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan does not
    mean that the international community has to reinforce what Stalin
    did." He continued: "What [Stalin] did at the beginning of the last
    century was against the will of our people. And now we are at the
    beginning of the 21st Century."

    So far, negotiations among the key players since the 1994 ceasefire,
    notably through the OSCE's Minsk Group, have produced a lot of
    statements and occasional glimmers of hope, but no concrete progress
    on a lasting political solution.

    But, clearly, Karabakh is not waiting for others to decide its
    future. It has been working to shore up its defenses while steadily
    improving its economy and the lot of its 145,000 people. Barseghian
    noted that GDP doubled from 2001 to 2005 (increasing to $114 million
    from $53 million), and economic growth last year was 14 percent.

    Although Karabakh is still a very poor country in a seemingly
    precarious political situation, its people are evidently working hard
    to improve their economy and prospects for the future.

    Asked about possible recognition of their republic, Barseghian said
    "there are positive tendencies" in that direction. He said "governments
    recognize the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has been
    established and functioning as a country, and more and more contacts
    look like regular government-to-government contacts." "However,
    Washington closely watches the developments in Karabakh including
    economic progress and democratization though the US government
    tries not to portray these as regular contacts, for obvious reasons"
    he added.

    "I believe the world recognizes that we deserve to be free, and as a
    minimum we should avoid another disaster. International recognition
    of Karabakh's independence will discourage another attack by
    Azerbaijan. The ceasefire has held for 12 years, and we believe this
    is due to the natural balance of forces." He noted that Azerbaijan's
    oil revenue has been used in part to strengthen its armed forces, and
    Karabakh (and Armenia) stress to the US Congress and administration
    that a military balance should be maintained to prevent a new attack
    by Azerbaijan," Barseghian resumed, reports DiplomaticTraffic.com.
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