Epress.am News from Armenia
Peoples living in the OSCE area have been following with hope and anticipation for the complete ratification of the principles outlined in the Helsinki Final Act (The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe). That includes the Nagorno-Karabakh people, who can expect the implementation of the same principles and commitments, which are universal regardless of the size of a country, its population size or its natural resources. This was said by Armenian President Serzh Sargysan during his speech at the OSCE Summit held in Astana, Kazakhstan, Dec. 1–2.
Continuing, the Armenian president said, “Nagorno-Karabakh declared its independence in September 1991, followed by the referendum on independence conducted in December of the same year in full compliance with the norms of international law and Soviet Union legislation, which was in effect at the time. With the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, two legally equal state entities emerged: the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.”
According to Sargsyan, Azerbaijan, unable to purge Nagorno-Karabakh of its Armenian population by force, was compelled to sign a tripartite ceasefire agreement in May 1994, with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The ceasefire could’ve been the beginning of establishing long-lasting peace in the interests of the peoples in the region.
“But Azerbaijan, under the guise of negotiations and contrary to the the efforts of the Minsk Group, used the past 16 years to make preparations for a new military adventure. In Baku they believe that the cause-and-effect relationship behind the Karabakh conflict has been forgotten. When Azerbaijan today speaks of the need to return the territories under the control of the Nagorno-Karabakh Self-Defense Army, it fails to acknowledge that it is impossible to eliminate the consequences of aggression without addressing the root cause of the conflict,” said Sargsyan.
“To my knowledge Azerbaijan is the only country on the European continent that boasts the manifold increase of its military spending…
“Azerbaijan’s attempts to obtain unilateral concessions through the threat of the use of force not only are doomed to fail from the beginning, but also continue to remain the main obstacle to settling the conflict through compromise. During this last week, I was again convinced that Azerbaijan, at this stage, has no interest in resolving the Karabakh problem. Its sole purpose is to inflict as much damage as possible on Armenia.
“Armenia categorically refuses to accept the resumption of military hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh as an option. If Azerbaijan resorts to military aggression, Armenia will have no other choice but to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh de jure and to invest all its capabilities into ensuring the security of the Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] people.
“Nagorno-Karabakh has no future within Azerbaijan, and whatever the resolution may be, it should emanate from the will of the Karabakh people. That is the core of the right to peoples’ self-determination. Azerbaijan has neither legal nor political nor ethical grounds for its claims on Nagorno-Karabakh,” concluded Sargsyan, according to the RA president’s official website.