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BAKO SAHAKIAN:
Laura Grigorian
Azat Artsakh Daily,
28 July 2010
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
"REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING, WE'LL CONTINUE OUR ACTIVITY ON ACHIEVING THE
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE NKR" On July 23, the President of
the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakian received representatives of the
leading mass media of Artsakh and Armenia. The meeting was aimed at
discussing the resolution of the Hague Court on Kosovo's independence
adopted the day before. During an hour-long press conference, the NKR
head of state answered over 15 questions of journalists. Will the
resolution on Kosovo become a considerable stimulus and precedent
for other unrecognized Republics, including Nagorno Karabakh? What
is the position of the President of Artsakh? According to Bako
Sahakian, though the resolution of the UN International Court is of
recommendation character, however, this is a significant event. "We
can only appreciate if the resolution of the Hague Court contributes
to the international recognition of the NKR. Regardless of anything,
we'll continue our activity on achieving the international recognition
of the Republic of Artsakh", said Bako Sahakian. We are more or less
aware of the principles on the current negotiations' agenda. Does
the NKR President admit the policy of the RA President, or is he
satisfied with the course of the negotiation process? According to
the President of Artsakh, Armenia, represented by its President,
conducts a policy radically differing from that of the opponent.
Armenia's steps are aimed at conducting a constructive activity and
contributing to the negotiations, said Bako Sahakian. "We all see
that the RA President doesn't conduct any extreme policy, which is
praised both by our people and the international community. We have
made sure for the last two years that Armenia's steps have been highly
appreciated by various international structures. Unlike Armenia, the
steps taken by the Azerbaijani authorities do not contribute to the
negotiation process, moreover, they hamper it", noted the President
of Artsakh. According to the journalists, the Hague resolution,
actually, opens a new page in the sphere of international law. Can
the negotiations' course be changed, introducing new proposals to
the co-chairs? The Artsakh head of state noted that not only after
the Hague resolution, but also at all meetings the Karabakh party
introduced various proposals and tried to support the OSCE Minsk
Group mission within the existing format. The Minsk Group's failure
in achieving progress in the negotiation process is caused by Nagorno
Karabakh's non-participation in the negotiations. As for the resolution
of the UN International Court, Bako Sahakian isn't convinced in its
impact on the negotiation process or the Co-Chairmen's position. "If
it has a positive impact, we'll only commend this", emphasized the
NKR President. The mass media have repeatedly raised the issue of
recognition of the NKR independence by Armenia. The journalists asked
the Republic's President about this.
Answering the question, Bako Sahakian said, "We have repeatedly
expressed our viewpoint on this - this is not an end in itself for us.
Armenia's recognition of the Republic of Artsakh has become an issue of
speculations. I assure you that this is a process, which should have
its grounds, and the most interested party in this is the Republic
of Artsakh. This issue is not on our everyday agenda, which is quite
justified. Eventually, Armenia bears certain responsibility before
the international community, and it would be wrong to condemn it in
this issue. We are sure that sooner or later it will happen, but we
want no political speculations in this", Bako Sahakian noted.
The journalists were interested in the negotiations on the Karabakh
conflict settlement in different contexts. But, the most important
question was when can the Karabakh party become an equal party to the
negotiation process? Speaking of this, the Artsakh President noted
that the position of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmen on the Karabakh
party's participation in the negotiation process had changed. For
the last two years, Armenia has conducted a great work for this. In
its official statements, Armenia always underlines that no progress
is possible in the settlement process without the Karabakh party's
participation. The co-chairmen and the Armenian parties are convinced
that no efficient job can be hoped for in the current format, i.e.
without Nagorno Karabakh's participation", Bako Sahakian said. How can
Kosovo's example influence the determination of the status of Nagorno
Karabakh, and how real is the international community's activity
in this process? "The Karabakh issue is a phenomenon, which cannot
be ignored either by international structures or the international
community, despite their long efforts. Today's Artsakh follows the
standards proclaimed by the international community. To our credit,
we have numerous achievements - in the context of creating both
democratic culture and a civil society. Our today's activity will,
surely, come to its logical end. First, it is the international
recognition of the Republic of Artsakh; second, it is the increase
of our country's security, and the work conducted to this end will
allow the people of Artsakh to properly develop their life in peaceful
conditions", Bako Sahakian said. Returning to the resolution of the
Hague Court, the President of the Artsakh Republic said, "Surely,
this is a new political situation created by the resolution of such
an authoritative organization as the Hague International Court. And,
surely, this is a new reality related not only to the Artsakh issue,
but also to the political life in the world, and in accordance with it,
certain developments will take place in our life as well. Another
matter is how we'll enjoy all this. Many people criticize the
Armenian party for the so-called weak job. We don't admit this: if
our activity is not made public, it doesn't mean that it is weak. I
believe that under a proper activity we'll win both in the political
and non-political situations". Questions on mutual compromises
and on the liberated territories were also asked. What option will
Nagorno Karabakh choose? The answer to this question was quite precise:
"When compromises are noted we say that when Nagorno Karabakh becomes
an equal party to the negotiation process, then we'll present our
viewpoint. I have repeatedly emphasized for all these years that
we don't consider the final status of Nagorno Karabakh within the
former NKAO. We have territories endorsed by our Constitution. And
when we say that our positions haven't changed, it means that the
security and independence of Karabakh are not subject to any bargain
or speculations. This is our choice", concluded Bako Sahakian.
From: A. Papazian
Laura Grigorian
Azat Artsakh Daily,
28 July 2010
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR]
"REGARDLESS OF ANYTHING, WE'LL CONTINUE OUR ACTIVITY ON ACHIEVING THE
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE NKR" On July 23, the President of
the Republic of Artsakh Bako Sahakian received representatives of the
leading mass media of Artsakh and Armenia. The meeting was aimed at
discussing the resolution of the Hague Court on Kosovo's independence
adopted the day before. During an hour-long press conference, the NKR
head of state answered over 15 questions of journalists. Will the
resolution on Kosovo become a considerable stimulus and precedent
for other unrecognized Republics, including Nagorno Karabakh? What
is the position of the President of Artsakh? According to Bako
Sahakian, though the resolution of the UN International Court is of
recommendation character, however, this is a significant event. "We
can only appreciate if the resolution of the Hague Court contributes
to the international recognition of the NKR. Regardless of anything,
we'll continue our activity on achieving the international recognition
of the Republic of Artsakh", said Bako Sahakian. We are more or less
aware of the principles on the current negotiations' agenda. Does
the NKR President admit the policy of the RA President, or is he
satisfied with the course of the negotiation process? According to
the President of Artsakh, Armenia, represented by its President,
conducts a policy radically differing from that of the opponent.
Armenia's steps are aimed at conducting a constructive activity and
contributing to the negotiations, said Bako Sahakian. "We all see
that the RA President doesn't conduct any extreme policy, which is
praised both by our people and the international community. We have
made sure for the last two years that Armenia's steps have been highly
appreciated by various international structures. Unlike Armenia, the
steps taken by the Azerbaijani authorities do not contribute to the
negotiation process, moreover, they hamper it", noted the President
of Artsakh. According to the journalists, the Hague resolution,
actually, opens a new page in the sphere of international law. Can
the negotiations' course be changed, introducing new proposals to
the co-chairs? The Artsakh head of state noted that not only after
the Hague resolution, but also at all meetings the Karabakh party
introduced various proposals and tried to support the OSCE Minsk
Group mission within the existing format. The Minsk Group's failure
in achieving progress in the negotiation process is caused by Nagorno
Karabakh's non-participation in the negotiations. As for the resolution
of the UN International Court, Bako Sahakian isn't convinced in its
impact on the negotiation process or the Co-Chairmen's position. "If
it has a positive impact, we'll only commend this", emphasized the
NKR President. The mass media have repeatedly raised the issue of
recognition of the NKR independence by Armenia. The journalists asked
the Republic's President about this.
Answering the question, Bako Sahakian said, "We have repeatedly
expressed our viewpoint on this - this is not an end in itself for us.
Armenia's recognition of the Republic of Artsakh has become an issue of
speculations. I assure you that this is a process, which should have
its grounds, and the most interested party in this is the Republic
of Artsakh. This issue is not on our everyday agenda, which is quite
justified. Eventually, Armenia bears certain responsibility before
the international community, and it would be wrong to condemn it in
this issue. We are sure that sooner or later it will happen, but we
want no political speculations in this", Bako Sahakian noted.
The journalists were interested in the negotiations on the Karabakh
conflict settlement in different contexts. But, the most important
question was when can the Karabakh party become an equal party to the
negotiation process? Speaking of this, the Artsakh President noted
that the position of the Minsk Group Co-Chairmen on the Karabakh
party's participation in the negotiation process had changed. For
the last two years, Armenia has conducted a great work for this. In
its official statements, Armenia always underlines that no progress
is possible in the settlement process without the Karabakh party's
participation. The co-chairmen and the Armenian parties are convinced
that no efficient job can be hoped for in the current format, i.e.
without Nagorno Karabakh's participation", Bako Sahakian said. How can
Kosovo's example influence the determination of the status of Nagorno
Karabakh, and how real is the international community's activity
in this process? "The Karabakh issue is a phenomenon, which cannot
be ignored either by international structures or the international
community, despite their long efforts. Today's Artsakh follows the
standards proclaimed by the international community. To our credit,
we have numerous achievements - in the context of creating both
democratic culture and a civil society. Our today's activity will,
surely, come to its logical end. First, it is the international
recognition of the Republic of Artsakh; second, it is the increase
of our country's security, and the work conducted to this end will
allow the people of Artsakh to properly develop their life in peaceful
conditions", Bako Sahakian said. Returning to the resolution of the
Hague Court, the President of the Artsakh Republic said, "Surely,
this is a new political situation created by the resolution of such
an authoritative organization as the Hague International Court. And,
surely, this is a new reality related not only to the Artsakh issue,
but also to the political life in the world, and in accordance with it,
certain developments will take place in our life as well. Another
matter is how we'll enjoy all this. Many people criticize the
Armenian party for the so-called weak job. We don't admit this: if
our activity is not made public, it doesn't mean that it is weak. I
believe that under a proper activity we'll win both in the political
and non-political situations". Questions on mutual compromises
and on the liberated territories were also asked. What option will
Nagorno Karabakh choose? The answer to this question was quite precise:
"When compromises are noted we say that when Nagorno Karabakh becomes
an equal party to the negotiation process, then we'll present our
viewpoint. I have repeatedly emphasized for all these years that
we don't consider the final status of Nagorno Karabakh within the
former NKAO. We have territories endorsed by our Constitution. And
when we say that our positions haven't changed, it means that the
security and independence of Karabakh are not subject to any bargain
or speculations. This is our choice", concluded Bako Sahakian.
From: A. Papazian