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news.am, Armenia
July 16 2010
Attempts to get territories back risky experiment
July 16, 2010 | 18:22
Below is an interview Masis Mailyan, Chairman of the Public Council
for Foreign Policy and Security, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), gave
NEWS.am
Question: What are your expectations from the upcoming five-sided
meeting in Almaty?
Answer: It is a regular meeting on the margins of another
international event. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs normally take the
opportunities to organize meetings between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents or Foreign Ministers on the margins of such
forums. I do not have any special expectations from the upcoming
meeting in Kazakhstan.
Question: How would you comment on the statements recently made by
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov?
Answer: Azerbaijan's apparently willing to get back the territories
lost during the war step by step. Official Baku would be satisfied
with such developments. The more so because it was Azerbaijan that
unleashed the war, Azeri troops occupied more than 50% of the
Nagorno-Karabakh territories at the initial stage of the war and the
Armenian population was subjected to ethnic cleansing. That is,
Azerbaijan seeks a bonus ` return of the lost territories ` instead of
the punishment it deserves.
I think neither Armenia nor the NKR must discuss the issue of
territories. At the full-format negotiations with the NKR's
participation it is only the issue of fixing the borders that can be
discussed.
Moreover, any attempts by official Baku and by the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs to get unilateral territorial concessions from the NKR is a
risky experience, as well as a gross violation of the international
practice of fixing the borders between newly formed states.
Question: What, in your opinion, should be Armenia's next step in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process?
Answer: Necessary conditions must be created for settling the
conflict. Therefore, on the one hand, Armenia must seek the signing of
a trilateral agreement on nonuse of force. On the other hand, Yerevan
and Stepanakert, using the Diaspora's potential, must be active to get
the NKR internationally recognized.
Thus, ruling out a military way of resolving the conflict, and
equalizing the international status of Azerbaijan and NKR, will create
the necessary conditions for a breakthrough in the negotiations and
long-term stability in the region.
From: A. Papazian
July 16 2010
Attempts to get territories back risky experiment
July 16, 2010 | 18:22
Below is an interview Masis Mailyan, Chairman of the Public Council
for Foreign Policy and Security, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR), gave
NEWS.am
Question: What are your expectations from the upcoming five-sided
meeting in Almaty?
Answer: It is a regular meeting on the margins of another
international event. The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs normally take the
opportunities to organize meetings between the Armenian and
Azerbaijani Presidents or Foreign Ministers on the margins of such
forums. I do not have any special expectations from the upcoming
meeting in Kazakhstan.
Question: How would you comment on the statements recently made by
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov?
Answer: Azerbaijan's apparently willing to get back the territories
lost during the war step by step. Official Baku would be satisfied
with such developments. The more so because it was Azerbaijan that
unleashed the war, Azeri troops occupied more than 50% of the
Nagorno-Karabakh territories at the initial stage of the war and the
Armenian population was subjected to ethnic cleansing. That is,
Azerbaijan seeks a bonus ` return of the lost territories ` instead of
the punishment it deserves.
I think neither Armenia nor the NKR must discuss the issue of
territories. At the full-format negotiations with the NKR's
participation it is only the issue of fixing the borders that can be
discussed.
Moreover, any attempts by official Baku and by the OSCE Minsk Group
Co-Chairs to get unilateral territorial concessions from the NKR is a
risky experience, as well as a gross violation of the international
practice of fixing the borders between newly formed states.
Question: What, in your opinion, should be Armenia's next step in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process?
Answer: Necessary conditions must be created for settling the
conflict. Therefore, on the one hand, Armenia must seek the signing of
a trilateral agreement on nonuse of force. On the other hand, Yerevan
and Stepanakert, using the Diaspora's potential, must be active to get
the NKR internationally recognized.
Thus, ruling out a military way of resolving the conflict, and
equalizing the international status of Azerbaijan and NKR, will create
the necessary conditions for a breakthrough in the negotiations and
long-term stability in the region.
From: A. Papazian