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AZERBAIJAN'S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY HAS NO BEARING ON KARABAKH
09:29 02/08/2013 " COMMENTS
Noyan Tapan news agency recently interviewed Armenia's Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shavarsh Kocharyan, in which the minister
spoke about Azerbaijan and the Karabakh negotiations, according
to Asbarez.com.
NOYAN TAPAN: How would you comment on the statements from the president
of Azerbaijan at a military parade in which he claimed that Armenia
is afraid of Azerbaijan's military expenditure?
SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN: This neurotic proclamation, which is an attempt
to present a pipe dream as reality, is just another failed attempt by
the Azerbaijani government to hide its own fear and panic over the
inescapable prospect of losing its authoritarian grip as a result
of growing discontent in the country. Continuous publications about
exaggerated military expenses and glorifications of the military on
a daily basis, especially while close to presidential elections, are
intended to distract domestic public attention from the huge wealth
of the ruling family of Azerbaijan, which has been obtained by the
unsparing plundering of the state and population.
N.T.: How do you assess the statements from Baku that Karabakh and
Armenia are located on Azerbaijani territories and that Armenians
are newcomers in the region?
S.K.: The fact that it has been less than one hundred years that a
country named Azerbaijan appeared on the world map renders it funny
that Azerbaijan would deny references from historians as far back as
the likes of Strabo, Plutarch and many others. On the other hand,
the official historiography of Turkey accepts that Turks came to
our region from Central Asia. The leadership of Azerbaijan, which
describes its relations with Turkey with the phrase "one nation,
two states," in fact admits that the nation, which got the name
"Azerbaijani" only in the 1930's, is a newcomer nation in this region.
There is nothing insulting about that and one shouldn't be ashamed
of it. But it is shameful to cut a people off from their roots and
falsify their history.
Such ridiculous statements from Baku only prove that both foreign
and internal politics in Azerbaijan are totally based on lies and
falsification. Azerbaijani propaganda even tries to attribute massacres
organized by themselves in Khojali to Armenians. It seems to Baku that
the Azerbaijani leadership can avoid responsibility for the cruel mass
killings of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad and other places in
Azerbaijan simply by using falsified propaganda on the Khojali tragedy.
The president of Azerbaijan declares that Armenians are their number
one enemy. In truth, the main enemy of Azerbaijan is its government.
For Azerbaijan's hereditary regime, the words "Armenian" and "the
truth" have become synonymous. Any criticism by international
organizations and individuals about the rampant corruption and
pervasive violations of basic human rights in the country are
considered a result of the activities of Armenians and pro-Armenian
groups.
N.T.: You mentioned Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan's position in
the Karabakh issue and denies the Armenian Genocide. How do you assess
the possibility of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations from
this perspective?
S.K.: Turkey is not consistent in its foreign policy. In defiance of
the letter and the spirit of the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed
in Zurich, Ankara supports the unrealistic intentions of Azerbaijan
and contributes to Baku's rigid, narrow-minded position, creating
obstacles for both the progress of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation
process and for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. In
contrast, Armenia is consistent in all directions of its foreign
policy. We have been and are supporters of unconditional normalization
of relations with Turkey. So the ball is in Turkey's court.
N.T.: Recently, meetings with the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
have become more frequent and after every meeting, Azerbaijan declares
that the conflict must be resolved in the scope of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity. To what extent do those announcements reflect
the negotiations process?
S.K.: First of all, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has nothing
to do with the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. As for the negotiations
with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijan has accepted
the Madrid documents as a basis for negotiations. The principles and
elements of the Madrid documents, which were made public by the heads
of the OSCE Minsk Group, should be considered as an integrated whole
and no element should be emphasized over another.
This was reaffirmed in the joint statement given by the Presidents
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries on June 18, 2013.
Azerbaijan, in contradiction with the UN charter, the principles
and elements of the Madrid documents, and the negotiation process,
tries to attach prevalence to the principle of territorial integrity,
totally ignoring the other principles that it has accepted, which
dictate that the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be
determined through a legally binding expression of will.
The attempts of Azerbaijan to present the negotiations process in a
distorted and selective way, to falsely present the essence of the
issues and the reasons of the conflict, to diminish the efforts of the
OSCE Minsk Group, and to obstruct the progress of the negotiations
process are useless. Despite the desperate efforts of Azerbaijan,
the conflict will be resolved in the framework of the right to
self-determination for the people of Artsakh and in the framework of
responsibility for the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression against
self-determined Artsakh.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2013/08/02/shavarsh-kocharyan/
09:29 02/08/2013 " COMMENTS
Noyan Tapan news agency recently interviewed Armenia's Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs Shavarsh Kocharyan, in which the minister
spoke about Azerbaijan and the Karabakh negotiations, according
to Asbarez.com.
NOYAN TAPAN: How would you comment on the statements from the president
of Azerbaijan at a military parade in which he claimed that Armenia
is afraid of Azerbaijan's military expenditure?
SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN: This neurotic proclamation, which is an attempt
to present a pipe dream as reality, is just another failed attempt by
the Azerbaijani government to hide its own fear and panic over the
inescapable prospect of losing its authoritarian grip as a result
of growing discontent in the country. Continuous publications about
exaggerated military expenses and glorifications of the military on
a daily basis, especially while close to presidential elections, are
intended to distract domestic public attention from the huge wealth
of the ruling family of Azerbaijan, which has been obtained by the
unsparing plundering of the state and population.
N.T.: How do you assess the statements from Baku that Karabakh and
Armenia are located on Azerbaijani territories and that Armenians
are newcomers in the region?
S.K.: The fact that it has been less than one hundred years that a
country named Azerbaijan appeared on the world map renders it funny
that Azerbaijan would deny references from historians as far back as
the likes of Strabo, Plutarch and many others. On the other hand,
the official historiography of Turkey accepts that Turks came to
our region from Central Asia. The leadership of Azerbaijan, which
describes its relations with Turkey with the phrase "one nation,
two states," in fact admits that the nation, which got the name
"Azerbaijani" only in the 1930's, is a newcomer nation in this region.
There is nothing insulting about that and one shouldn't be ashamed
of it. But it is shameful to cut a people off from their roots and
falsify their history.
Such ridiculous statements from Baku only prove that both foreign
and internal politics in Azerbaijan are totally based on lies and
falsification. Azerbaijani propaganda even tries to attribute massacres
organized by themselves in Khojali to Armenians. It seems to Baku that
the Azerbaijani leadership can avoid responsibility for the cruel mass
killings of Armenians in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad and other places in
Azerbaijan simply by using falsified propaganda on the Khojali tragedy.
The president of Azerbaijan declares that Armenians are their number
one enemy. In truth, the main enemy of Azerbaijan is its government.
For Azerbaijan's hereditary regime, the words "Armenian" and "the
truth" have become synonymous. Any criticism by international
organizations and individuals about the rampant corruption and
pervasive violations of basic human rights in the country are
considered a result of the activities of Armenians and pro-Armenian
groups.
N.T.: You mentioned Turkey, which supports Azerbaijan's position in
the Karabakh issue and denies the Armenian Genocide. How do you assess
the possibility of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations from
this perspective?
S.K.: Turkey is not consistent in its foreign policy. In defiance of
the letter and the spirit of the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed
in Zurich, Ankara supports the unrealistic intentions of Azerbaijan
and contributes to Baku's rigid, narrow-minded position, creating
obstacles for both the progress of the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiation
process and for the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. In
contrast, Armenia is consistent in all directions of its foreign
policy. We have been and are supporters of unconditional normalization
of relations with Turkey. So the ball is in Turkey's court.
N.T.: Recently, meetings with the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
have become more frequent and after every meeting, Azerbaijan declares
that the conflict must be resolved in the scope of Azerbaijan's
territorial integrity. To what extent do those announcements reflect
the negotiations process?
S.K.: First of all, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan has nothing
to do with the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. As for the negotiations
with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijan has accepted
the Madrid documents as a basis for negotiations. The principles and
elements of the Madrid documents, which were made public by the heads
of the OSCE Minsk Group, should be considered as an integrated whole
and no element should be emphasized over another.
This was reaffirmed in the joint statement given by the Presidents
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair Countries on June 18, 2013.
Azerbaijan, in contradiction with the UN charter, the principles
and elements of the Madrid documents, and the negotiation process,
tries to attach prevalence to the principle of territorial integrity,
totally ignoring the other principles that it has accepted, which
dictate that the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be
determined through a legally binding expression of will.
The attempts of Azerbaijan to present the negotiations process in a
distorted and selective way, to falsely present the essence of the
issues and the reasons of the conflict, to diminish the efforts of the
OSCE Minsk Group, and to obstruct the progress of the negotiations
process are useless. Despite the desperate efforts of Azerbaijan,
the conflict will be resolved in the framework of the right to
self-determination for the people of Artsakh and in the framework of
responsibility for the consequences of Azerbaijani aggression against
self-determined Artsakh.
http://www.panorama.am/en/politics/2013/08/02/shavarsh-kocharyan/