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SARKISIAN SHOULD NOT HAVE GONE TO MUNICH, SAYS HOVANNESIAN
Asbarez
Nov 24th, 2009
ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian
STEPANAKERT (ARF Press Service)-President Serzh Sarkisian should not
have gone to Munich for the OSCE-sponsored talks, in the wake Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev's military threats against Armenia, said
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovanessian
during a press conference Tuesday at the Artsakh press club.
The ARF leader said that Armenia's absence from the Munich meeting
would have been accepted by the international community since it
would have fallen within international norms of peaceful conflict
resolution principles.
"[Armenia] should have told the mediators that [Alieyv's] announcement
was equal to pressure and we do not see the imperative to negotiate
under pressure," said Hovannesian, who added that Aliyev's military
threats could not be seen as one of his regular such statements,
but an ultimatum.
On Friday, Aliyev said in comments televised across his country, that
if Armenia did not agree to "return occupied territories" Azerbaijan
would have no problem in seizing them through military force.
Hovannesian suggested that Armenia could have used Aliyev's remarks
as weapon against Azerbaijan in the negotiation process, but failed
to do so.
The mediators should have been urged by Sarkisian to call Azerbaijan to
task on its unconstructive and damaging behavior, and by not attending
the Munich talks Armenia could have sent a clear signal to Azerbaijan
and the OSCE mediators that Armenia did not stand for such threats,
he explained.
"I have stopped believing the Minsk Group co-chairs' announcements,
because they contradict themselves," said Hovannesian.
"Everything is being done to squeeze concessions from Armenia on
the Karabakh front, in order to make the Armenia-Turkey protocols
approval process easier," said Hovannesian, adding that the ARF had
been warning the Armenian government about such traps, in which,
the ARF believes, the Armenian authorities have fallen once before
by agreeing to take part in the rapprochement process.
"The best option is to not ratify the protocols. This would not be
such a frightening situation. The talks would begin from scratch or
from a point where Armenia would have an opportunity to bypass the
current dangers," said Hovannesian.
Hovsannesian, who also leads the ARF parliamentary faction in Armenia,
argued that Armenia's response to Aliyev's remarks-recognition of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic-is but one element of solving the problem.
He added that pursuing international recognition for Karabakh would
facilitate Stepanakert's complete participation in the peace process.
In his remarks, Hovannesian also commented on Russia's recent posturing
on issues related to Armenia, which he described as being Moscow's
closest regional ally.
"I consider Russia's current role in both Armenian-Turkish and
Armenian-Azeri relations to be very dangerous for Armenia," said
Hovannesian.
Asbarez
Nov 24th, 2009
ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian
STEPANAKERT (ARF Press Service)-President Serzh Sarkisian should not
have gone to Munich for the OSCE-sponsored talks, in the wake Azeri
President Ilham Aliyev's military threats against Armenia, said
Armenian Revolutionary Federation Bureau member Vahan Hovanessian
during a press conference Tuesday at the Artsakh press club.
The ARF leader said that Armenia's absence from the Munich meeting
would have been accepted by the international community since it
would have fallen within international norms of peaceful conflict
resolution principles.
"[Armenia] should have told the mediators that [Alieyv's] announcement
was equal to pressure and we do not see the imperative to negotiate
under pressure," said Hovannesian, who added that Aliyev's military
threats could not be seen as one of his regular such statements,
but an ultimatum.
On Friday, Aliyev said in comments televised across his country, that
if Armenia did not agree to "return occupied territories" Azerbaijan
would have no problem in seizing them through military force.
Hovannesian suggested that Armenia could have used Aliyev's remarks
as weapon against Azerbaijan in the negotiation process, but failed
to do so.
The mediators should have been urged by Sarkisian to call Azerbaijan to
task on its unconstructive and damaging behavior, and by not attending
the Munich talks Armenia could have sent a clear signal to Azerbaijan
and the OSCE mediators that Armenia did not stand for such threats,
he explained.
"I have stopped believing the Minsk Group co-chairs' announcements,
because they contradict themselves," said Hovannesian.
"Everything is being done to squeeze concessions from Armenia on
the Karabakh front, in order to make the Armenia-Turkey protocols
approval process easier," said Hovannesian, adding that the ARF had
been warning the Armenian government about such traps, in which,
the ARF believes, the Armenian authorities have fallen once before
by agreeing to take part in the rapprochement process.
"The best option is to not ratify the protocols. This would not be
such a frightening situation. The talks would begin from scratch or
from a point where Armenia would have an opportunity to bypass the
current dangers," said Hovannesian.
Hovsannesian, who also leads the ARF parliamentary faction in Armenia,
argued that Armenia's response to Aliyev's remarks-recognition of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic-is but one element of solving the problem.
He added that pursuing international recognition for Karabakh would
facilitate Stepanakert's complete participation in the peace process.
In his remarks, Hovannesian also commented on Russia's recent posturing
on issues related to Armenia, which he described as being Moscow's
closest regional ally.
"I consider Russia's current role in both Armenian-Turkish and
Armenian-Azeri relations to be very dangerous for Armenia," said
Hovannesian.