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How United States and EU Prevented Capitulation of Karabakh
`The European Union and US made a big mistake, when in the period of
active rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey in 2009, they
separated this process from the process of resolution of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,' said the ex-co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza during the EU-Azerbaijan conference on security
and understanding.
Bryza thinks the two issues are interrelated and cannot be handled
separately. In fact, the former co-chair is blaming the EU and the
United States.
How about Russia? What was Russia doing then? Wasn't Moscow separating
the Armenian-Turkish process from the Artsakh process? Why did Bryza
mention the mistake of the United States and the EU? Wasn't Russia
part of the mistake?
Most probably, it wasn't.
Russia did not participate in that `mistake' which, in fact, kept
Armenia from fatal mistakes, but also was a supporter of elimination
of that mistake.
It was not accidental that in June 2008 Serzh Sargsyan invited Gul
when he was in Moscow, while already in Yerevan in September Serzh
Sargsyan urged him to support the resolution of Karabakh.
Earlier the Russian foreign minister Lavrov had announced that
compromise over territories would result in a breakthrough towards
opening the Armenian-Turkish border. In fact, a month before Gul's
arrival in September Moscow scared Armenia with a five-day
Russian-Georgian war during which Armenia was about to face an energy
crisis.
In fact, the EU and the U.S. saved Armenia from capitulation of
Artsakh which would be the price for the resolution of the
Armenian-Turkish relation set by Moscow.
Nobody in Armenia spoke about it. Serzh Sargsyan who came to
government with the help of March 1 bloodshed was ready to pay any
price to get legitimacy and guarantees from abroad.
The contemporaneous opposition decided not to stop Serzh Sargsyan from
normalization with Turkey. Wikileaks proved that the price which
Armenia would have to pay with its territories was acceptable to the
opposition. In one of the cables Levon Ter-Petrosyan was said to have
urged Marie Yovanovitch to use the time of weakness of Serzh Sargsyan
and enforce resolution of Artsakh.
Apparently, the United States and the EU thus became sure that there
is no opposition in Armenia to prevent Armenia from paying the price
demanded by Russia and go down to solving the issue by way of
successful freezing of the Armenian-Turkish normalization.
Now there is unrest in Turkey. No doubt independent from how the
developments will end there, after these developments Turkey will not
remain the same it was before the urban development project at the
center of Istanbul.
It is not known what Turkey will be like, with or without Erdogan. And
it means that now Armenia can reject the Armenian-Turkish protocols
because they have been pre-signed with a Turkey that has disappeared.
Armenia has signed important documents with a country the future
identity of which is uncertain. It is at least imprudent, so
logically, the Armenian-Turkish protocols must be withdrawn from the
agenda of the parliament.
The EU and the U.S. have saved Armenian from a fatal mistake which
Serzh Sargsyan would readily make for the sake of his office. For
their part, the EU and the United States have him have his office.
Russia is regularly jeopardizing Serzh Sargsyan's office, activating
its political or the adjunct `civil' resources. If Armenia remains
loyal to the Armenian-Turkish protocols, his office will be
jeopardized by the West. In addition, it does not mean that Russia
will automatically trust him. They will start doubting from both
sides, which will not lead anywhere.
Instead, Serzh Sargsyan has a chance to do something good for the
state, opening up an opportunity for Armenia to maneuver in the
upcoming complicated political period.
In fact, it is time Armenia acted on foreign and domestic affairs
because they are interrelated, and one stems from the other.
All Serzh Sargsyan cares for is his office but now he has one reliable
way of taking care of his office. He must start taking care of
Armenia.
By the way, in that case Armenia may take care of Serzh Sargsyan's
post-office destiny because otherwise Armenia will have nothing to
think.
Hakob Badalyan
14:40 08/06/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/30088
`The European Union and US made a big mistake, when in the period of
active rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey in 2009, they
separated this process from the process of resolution of
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,' said the ex-co-chair of the OSCE Minsk
Group Matthew Bryza during the EU-Azerbaijan conference on security
and understanding.
Bryza thinks the two issues are interrelated and cannot be handled
separately. In fact, the former co-chair is blaming the EU and the
United States.
How about Russia? What was Russia doing then? Wasn't Moscow separating
the Armenian-Turkish process from the Artsakh process? Why did Bryza
mention the mistake of the United States and the EU? Wasn't Russia
part of the mistake?
Most probably, it wasn't.
Russia did not participate in that `mistake' which, in fact, kept
Armenia from fatal mistakes, but also was a supporter of elimination
of that mistake.
It was not accidental that in June 2008 Serzh Sargsyan invited Gul
when he was in Moscow, while already in Yerevan in September Serzh
Sargsyan urged him to support the resolution of Karabakh.
Earlier the Russian foreign minister Lavrov had announced that
compromise over territories would result in a breakthrough towards
opening the Armenian-Turkish border. In fact, a month before Gul's
arrival in September Moscow scared Armenia with a five-day
Russian-Georgian war during which Armenia was about to face an energy
crisis.
In fact, the EU and the U.S. saved Armenia from capitulation of
Artsakh which would be the price for the resolution of the
Armenian-Turkish relation set by Moscow.
Nobody in Armenia spoke about it. Serzh Sargsyan who came to
government with the help of March 1 bloodshed was ready to pay any
price to get legitimacy and guarantees from abroad.
The contemporaneous opposition decided not to stop Serzh Sargsyan from
normalization with Turkey. Wikileaks proved that the price which
Armenia would have to pay with its territories was acceptable to the
opposition. In one of the cables Levon Ter-Petrosyan was said to have
urged Marie Yovanovitch to use the time of weakness of Serzh Sargsyan
and enforce resolution of Artsakh.
Apparently, the United States and the EU thus became sure that there
is no opposition in Armenia to prevent Armenia from paying the price
demanded by Russia and go down to solving the issue by way of
successful freezing of the Armenian-Turkish normalization.
Now there is unrest in Turkey. No doubt independent from how the
developments will end there, after these developments Turkey will not
remain the same it was before the urban development project at the
center of Istanbul.
It is not known what Turkey will be like, with or without Erdogan. And
it means that now Armenia can reject the Armenian-Turkish protocols
because they have been pre-signed with a Turkey that has disappeared.
Armenia has signed important documents with a country the future
identity of which is uncertain. It is at least imprudent, so
logically, the Armenian-Turkish protocols must be withdrawn from the
agenda of the parliament.
The EU and the U.S. have saved Armenian from a fatal mistake which
Serzh Sargsyan would readily make for the sake of his office. For
their part, the EU and the United States have him have his office.
Russia is regularly jeopardizing Serzh Sargsyan's office, activating
its political or the adjunct `civil' resources. If Armenia remains
loyal to the Armenian-Turkish protocols, his office will be
jeopardized by the West. In addition, it does not mean that Russia
will automatically trust him. They will start doubting from both
sides, which will not lead anywhere.
Instead, Serzh Sargsyan has a chance to do something good for the
state, opening up an opportunity for Armenia to maneuver in the
upcoming complicated political period.
In fact, it is time Armenia acted on foreign and domestic affairs
because they are interrelated, and one stems from the other.
All Serzh Sargsyan cares for is his office but now he has one reliable
way of taking care of his office. He must start taking care of
Armenia.
By the way, in that case Armenia may take care of Serzh Sargsyan's
post-office destiny because otherwise Armenia will have nothing to
think.
Hakob Badalyan
14:40 08/06/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/30088