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news.az, Azerbaijan
Sept 17 2010
Armenia 'cannot recognize' Kosovo as it hasn't recognized Karabakh
Fri 17 September 2010 12:00 GMT | 16:00 Local Time
Edward Nalbandian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has said that
Armenia is not about to recognize the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh
republic.
He was speaking in an interview with Ukrainian newspaper, Segodnya.
Asked whether Armenia would recognize Georgia's breakaway territories
of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Nalbandian said: "As long as the
negotiating process is continuing and as long as there is hope of a
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, we do not think that any
other steps are needed."
"We have not yet recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and without having
recognized Karabakh, we cannot recognize, for example, Kosovo, which
has the right to be independent but no more so than Karabakh, or other
entities that have been recognized by some countries but not the full
international community," Nalbandian continued.
"If the negotiating process is not effective and if Azerbaijan's
constant threats cause a breakdown, then certainly we will have to
take different steps," he said.
Asked why rapprochement with Turkey had stalled, Nalbandian said this
was because Ankara had started to set conditions on ratification of
the rapprochement accords.
"We agreed on two draft protocols - on establishing diplomatic
relations and on developing bilateral relations. These protocols were
signed in October 2009 in Zurich without any preliminary conditions at
all. They were to be ratified. But Turkey, with a nod towards a third
country, said that it could not ratify, because they would not be
pleased, but told us that they wanted to do it," Nalbandian said,
making a veiled reference to Azerbaijan's objections to the accords.
"This went on for several months and it emerged that Turkey was really
moving to the language of conditions concerning the Armenian genocide,
as had been the case before the start of negotiations," Nalbandian
told Segodnya.
"It linked the second precondition with a Karabakh settlement -
resolve this issue, they said, then we'll talk. But we could say:
resolve Cyprus, your relations with the Kurds, then we'll talk to you.
Armenia was forced to stop the ratification process. We are ready to
move forward, Turkey has the ball. The next match will take place when
Turkey has trained properly and can take to the pitch without asking
for a head start," the minister said.
His remarks echoed comments made by President Serzh Sargsyan in
Ukraine's Profil magazine today that Armenia was waiting for a new
leadership to emerge in Turkey "ready to show political will".
Elsewhere in the interview with Segodnya, Edward Nalbandian said that
joining NATO was not on Armenia's agenda. "It's no secret that we are
allies of Russia and these words are significant," the minister said.
He said that Russia had invested $2.75bn in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
Sept 17 2010
Armenia 'cannot recognize' Kosovo as it hasn't recognized Karabakh
Fri 17 September 2010 12:00 GMT | 16:00 Local Time
Edward Nalbandian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has said that
Armenia is not about to recognize the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh
republic.
He was speaking in an interview with Ukrainian newspaper, Segodnya.
Asked whether Armenia would recognize Georgia's breakaway territories
of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Nalbandian said: "As long as the
negotiating process is continuing and as long as there is hope of a
peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, we do not think that any
other steps are needed."
"We have not yet recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and without having
recognized Karabakh, we cannot recognize, for example, Kosovo, which
has the right to be independent but no more so than Karabakh, or other
entities that have been recognized by some countries but not the full
international community," Nalbandian continued.
"If the negotiating process is not effective and if Azerbaijan's
constant threats cause a breakdown, then certainly we will have to
take different steps," he said.
Asked why rapprochement with Turkey had stalled, Nalbandian said this
was because Ankara had started to set conditions on ratification of
the rapprochement accords.
"We agreed on two draft protocols - on establishing diplomatic
relations and on developing bilateral relations. These protocols were
signed in October 2009 in Zurich without any preliminary conditions at
all. They were to be ratified. But Turkey, with a nod towards a third
country, said that it could not ratify, because they would not be
pleased, but told us that they wanted to do it," Nalbandian said,
making a veiled reference to Azerbaijan's objections to the accords.
"This went on for several months and it emerged that Turkey was really
moving to the language of conditions concerning the Armenian genocide,
as had been the case before the start of negotiations," Nalbandian
told Segodnya.
"It linked the second precondition with a Karabakh settlement -
resolve this issue, they said, then we'll talk. But we could say:
resolve Cyprus, your relations with the Kurds, then we'll talk to you.
Armenia was forced to stop the ratification process. We are ready to
move forward, Turkey has the ball. The next match will take place when
Turkey has trained properly and can take to the pitch without asking
for a head start," the minister said.
His remarks echoed comments made by President Serzh Sargsyan in
Ukraine's Profil magazine today that Armenia was waiting for a new
leadership to emerge in Turkey "ready to show political will".
Elsewhere in the interview with Segodnya, Edward Nalbandian said that
joining NATO was not on Armenia's agenda. "It's no secret that we are
allies of Russia and these words are significant," the minister said.
He said that Russia had invested $2.75bn in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian