Impact of Kosovo Case on Karabagh
Karabakh Armenians Buoyed By Kosovo `Precedent'
26.07.2010
Lusine Musayelian
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leadership has joined official
Yerevan in welcoming a United Nations court ruling that upheld the
international legitimacy of Kosovo's secession from Serbia and
affirming its applicability to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Bako Sahakian, the president of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR), described the non-binding ruling handed down by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) as an `important event' at a rare
news conference in Stepanakert late on Friday. He said it will create
a `new political situation' in the Karabakh conflict zone.
`That decision has an extremely important legal, political and moral
significance and sets a precedent that can not be confined to Kosovo,'
the NKR Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued the next day. It
said Karabakh's predominantly Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijani rule `in full compliance with the basic principles of
international law' and is therefore also entitled to international
recognition.
A similar statement was also adopted by Karabakh's three main
political parties. All of them are represented in the local parliament
and government.
Armenia hailed the ICJ judgment shortly after its announcement on
Thursday evening. Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said The
Hague-based court ruled that peoples' self-determination should take
precedence over territorial integrity of states in the resolution of
territorial or ethnic disputes.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry insisted on Friday, however, that the
ICJ ruling applies only to Kosovo and Serbia and can not have any
repercussions for the Karabakh conflict -- a view essentially shared
by the United States.
`Anyone who reads the ruling will see that this was a specific
judgment based on facts unique to Kosovo,' U.S. State Department
spokesman Philip Crowley said on Friday. `We certainly don't think it
applies to other circumstances.'
Sahakian made clear that the authorities in Stepanakert will not press
Yerevan to formally recognize the NKR as an independent state after
the ICJ ruling. `After all, Armenia bears responsibility before the
international community, and you can't blame Armenia's political
leaders for not recognizing the NKR's independence,' he said. `In this
regard, we have never expressed our discontent with Armenia's
leadership.'
`We believe that sooner or later we will approach [the launch of] a
recognition process by Armenia,' added the Karabakh leader.
26.07.2010
Lusine Musayelian
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian leadership has joined official
Yerevan in welcoming a United Nations court ruling that upheld the
international legitimacy of Kosovo's secession from Serbia and
affirming its applicability to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Bako Sahakian, the president of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR), described the non-binding ruling handed down by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) as an `important event' at a rare
news conference in Stepanakert late on Friday. He said it will create
a `new political situation' in the Karabakh conflict zone.
`That decision has an extremely important legal, political and moral
significance and sets a precedent that can not be confined to Kosovo,'
the NKR Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued the next day. It
said Karabakh's predominantly Armenian population broke away from
Azerbaijani rule `in full compliance with the basic principles of
international law' and is therefore also entitled to international
recognition.
A similar statement was also adopted by Karabakh's three main
political parties. All of them are represented in the local parliament
and government.
Armenia hailed the ICJ judgment shortly after its announcement on
Thursday evening. Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said The
Hague-based court ruled that peoples' self-determination should take
precedence over territorial integrity of states in the resolution of
territorial or ethnic disputes.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry insisted on Friday, however, that the
ICJ ruling applies only to Kosovo and Serbia and can not have any
repercussions for the Karabakh conflict -- a view essentially shared
by the United States.
`Anyone who reads the ruling will see that this was a specific
judgment based on facts unique to Kosovo,' U.S. State Department
spokesman Philip Crowley said on Friday. `We certainly don't think it
applies to other circumstances.'
Sahakian made clear that the authorities in Stepanakert will not press
Yerevan to formally recognize the NKR as an independent state after
the ICJ ruling. `After all, Armenia bears responsibility before the
international community, and you can't blame Armenia's political
leaders for not recognizing the NKR's independence,' he said. `In this
regard, we have never expressed our discontent with Armenia's
leadership.'
`We believe that sooner or later we will approach [the launch of] a
recognition process by Armenia,' added the Karabakh leader.
AZERBAIJANI DIASPORA: KOSOVO RULING NO PRECEDENT
FOR KARABAKH
news.az
July 26 2010
Azerbaijan
The International Court of Justice ruled last week that Kosovo's
declaration of secession from Serbia did not break international law.
The fact that the international community is prepared to act in
support of the interests of the people of Kosovo underlines the
need for action to be taken to allow the one million refugees and
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nagorno-Karabakh and the
seven surrounding districts to be allowed to return to their homes,
The European Azerbaijan Society has said.
There is no parallel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Kosovo.
Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding districts were invaded by
Armenian forces, and these are still in place, preventing the IDPs and
refugees from returning to their homes. Unlike Kosovo, not a single
country recognizes Nagorno- Karabakh, and that is why no precedent
has been set. This point was recently echoed by Bernard Fassier, OSCE
Minsk Group French co-chair, at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose
Roth seminar in Yerevan. Fassier commented: "Armenians consider Kosovo
to set a precedent that should be applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. However, this is impossible - Nagorno-Karabakh remains
unrecognized by any country, including Armenia." Fassier went on to
stress the difference between the conflicts. He explained: "Kosovo
is a conflict inside the country, whereas Nagorno-Karabakh is a
conflict between two countries - Armenia and Azerbaijan. Moreover,
there were international forces in Kosovo for many years, yet there
were no international forces in Nagorno-Karabakh."
Indeed, both the current Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, and his
predecessor, Robert Kocharyan, were born in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Furthermore, Sargsyan became Armenian defence minister during the war
in 1993, and was in charge of military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh,
during which 613 Azerbaijani civilians were massacred in the town
of Khojaly. The aggressive military campaign waged by Armenia
has resulted in the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven
surrounding districts for the past 16 years. This amounts to nearly 20
per cent of Azerbaijani territory. Whereas the international community
intervened when ethnic Albanians were being cleansed from Kosovo, they
remained impassive and apathetic when Azerbaijanis were the victims in
Nagorno-Karabakh, undergoing ethnic cleansing by the Armenian militia.
This has resulted in nearly one million Azerbaijani IDPs fleeing
the region, and they remain unable to return home. Currently, four
outstanding UN Security Council Resolutions call upon Armenia to
withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories: Nos 822,
853, 874 and 884. Thus far, these have been ignored by Armenia.
As in the case of Kosovo, where the international community intervened
to halt Serbian ethnic-cleansing of the Albanian population, the
international community should stop being apathetic with regard to the
situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pressure must be applied to Armenia,
forcing the withdrawal of its forces from the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, enabling nearly one million IDPs to return to their
homeland. The Armenian ethnic cleansing and occupation of Azerbaijani
territories must be condemned universally and immediate conflict
resolution achieved, in accordance with the rule of international law.
news.az
July 26 2010
Azerbaijan
The International Court of Justice ruled last week that Kosovo's
declaration of secession from Serbia did not break international law.
The fact that the international community is prepared to act in
support of the interests of the people of Kosovo underlines the
need for action to be taken to allow the one million refugees and
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nagorno-Karabakh and the
seven surrounding districts to be allowed to return to their homes,
The European Azerbaijan Society has said.
There is no parallel between Nagorno-Karabakh and Kosovo.
Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding districts were invaded by
Armenian forces, and these are still in place, preventing the IDPs and
refugees from returning to their homes. Unlike Kosovo, not a single
country recognizes Nagorno- Karabakh, and that is why no precedent
has been set. This point was recently echoed by Bernard Fassier, OSCE
Minsk Group French co-chair, at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rose
Roth seminar in Yerevan. Fassier commented: "Armenians consider Kosovo
to set a precedent that should be applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. However, this is impossible - Nagorno-Karabakh remains
unrecognized by any country, including Armenia." Fassier went on to
stress the difference between the conflicts. He explained: "Kosovo
is a conflict inside the country, whereas Nagorno-Karabakh is a
conflict between two countries - Armenia and Azerbaijan. Moreover,
there were international forces in Kosovo for many years, yet there
were no international forces in Nagorno-Karabakh."
Indeed, both the current Armenian president, Serzh Sargsyan, and his
predecessor, Robert Kocharyan, were born in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Furthermore, Sargsyan became Armenian defence minister during the war
in 1993, and was in charge of military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh,
during which 613 Azerbaijani civilians were massacred in the town
of Khojaly. The aggressive military campaign waged by Armenia
has resulted in the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven
surrounding districts for the past 16 years. This amounts to nearly 20
per cent of Azerbaijani territory. Whereas the international community
intervened when ethnic Albanians were being cleansed from Kosovo, they
remained impassive and apathetic when Azerbaijanis were the victims in
Nagorno-Karabakh, undergoing ethnic cleansing by the Armenian militia.
This has resulted in nearly one million Azerbaijani IDPs fleeing
the region, and they remain unable to return home. Currently, four
outstanding UN Security Council Resolutions call upon Armenia to
withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories: Nos 822,
853, 874 and 884. Thus far, these have been ignored by Armenia.
As in the case of Kosovo, where the international community intervened
to halt Serbian ethnic-cleansing of the Albanian population, the
international community should stop being apathetic with regard to the
situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Pressure must be applied to Armenia,
forcing the withdrawal of its forces from the occupied Azerbaijani
territories, enabling nearly one million IDPs to return to their
homeland. The Armenian ethnic cleansing and occupation of Azerbaijani
territories must be condemned universally and immediate conflict
resolution achieved, in accordance with the rule of international law.
FOR REACHING INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION OF THE
INDEPENDENCE OF THE NAGORNO KARABAKH FIRST OF ALL
SERIOUS FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS ARE NECESSARY
ARMENPRESS
JULY 27, 2010
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS: For reaching international recognition
of the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh first of all serious
financial investments are necessary, deputy head of the Russia's
geo-political affairs academy Ara Sargsyan said, informing that for
reaching Kosovo's independence the oligarchs of that country invested
millions of dollars thanks to which different international diplomats
and experts carried out extended propaganda work throughout the world.
"Only Albanian oligarch Khashim Tacin paid well-known diplomat Machti
Akhtisarii 250 million USD," Ara Sargsyan said.
In his opinion the key to the settlement of the NK issue is in the
hands of West. "If the USA wished the NK issue would have been settled
long ago. The way of the settlement of the NK issue as well as the
South Caucasus are under the control of the USA, France and Great
Britain. Russia too has ways to settle the Karabakh issue but it does
not do that waiting for returning its full influence on the South
Caucasian countries which sooner or later will take place," he said.
According to the analyst, Armenia must start active diplomatic work
with Balkan countries - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which
is going to recognize Kosovo's independence in the near future. "We
must work with such countries who accept and consider the principle
of self-determination a prior one," Ara Sargsyan said.
ARMENPRESS
JULY 27, 2010
YEREVAN
YEREVAN, JULY 27, ARMENPRESS: For reaching international recognition
of the independence of the Nagorno Karabakh first of all serious
financial investments are necessary, deputy head of the Russia's
geo-political affairs academy Ara Sargsyan said, informing that for
reaching Kosovo's independence the oligarchs of that country invested
millions of dollars thanks to which different international diplomats
and experts carried out extended propaganda work throughout the world.
"Only Albanian oligarch Khashim Tacin paid well-known diplomat Machti
Akhtisarii 250 million USD," Ara Sargsyan said.
In his opinion the key to the settlement of the NK issue is in the
hands of West. "If the USA wished the NK issue would have been settled
long ago. The way of the settlement of the NK issue as well as the
South Caucasus are under the control of the USA, France and Great
Britain. Russia too has ways to settle the Karabakh issue but it does
not do that waiting for returning its full influence on the South
Caucasian countries which sooner or later will take place," he said.
According to the analyst, Armenia must start active diplomatic work
with Balkan countries - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which
is going to recognize Kosovo's independence in the near future. "We
must work with such countries who accept and consider the principle
of self-determination a prior one," Ara Sargsyan said.
HAGUE COURT RULING ON KOSOVO THROUGH PERSPECTIVE
OF KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
Arshaluys Mghdesyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 24, 2010
The political week in Armenia started with congresses of the Armenian
National Movement and Armenakan Ramkavar-Azatakan party. On July 17,
Yerevan hosted the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement. In
his remarks, Armenia's first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said that
Armenia's economic development is impossible without resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of relations with Turkey.
Ter-Petrosyan also voiced confidence that the key to Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation is in Russia's hands.
On July 20, former RA parliamentary speaker Karapet Rubinyan
left the Armenian National Movement (ANM), explaining reasons
behind his resignation in a letter to the newly-elected ANM
administration. Some of the reasons cited were "forged elections into
movement administration, lack of future vision and defeatist moods in
a struggle against current authorities, expressed by movement leader
at recent session." Referring to reasons of Rubinyan's withdrawal
from the party, Chairman of the newly elected board of the Armenian
National Movement (ANM) Aram Manukyan said that Rubinyan's accusations
concerning falsification of the ANM board election during the party's
16th congress are baseless. "The system of our party's board election
is so transparent that falsifications are impossible," Manukyan told
a press conference on July 21.
On July 17, Yerevan hosted the second congress of Armenakan-Ramkavar
Azatakan party with participation of 100 delegates. Leader of the
party Hakob Avetikyan submitted a report on the activity of the
party's republican board during a year. Referring to the economic
and political situation in Armenia, Hakob Avetikyan noted that
Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party can be a balancing force among
opposition and pro-governmental blocs of Armenia.
On July 17, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries released a statement. Below are comments of Armenian
politicians on it. Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia
parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov said that the statement is an
obvious case when the Azerbaijani leadership's bellicose statements
are not left without response. "This proves that the Azerbaijani
leadership's bellicose statements intended for the internal use lead
the country into a deadlock. Meanwhile, a "yellow card" was given to
Azerbaijan in Almaty on July 17," concluded Sharmazanov.
"The expectations for the meeting were quite different. Baku
expected "a schedule of withdrawal of Armenian troops from Karabakh"
to be signed, political analyst Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on July 18. According to him, Yerevan
expected a regular fruitless meeting. Both sides were wrong, said
Melik-Shahnazaryan.
Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said that the
ministerial meeting in Almaty has registered a number of important
factors in the Karabakh process. "The OSCE Minsk Group underscored
that the talks should continue on the basis of the current status
quo, with the principles of Helsinki Final Act being equal. The
statement disillusioned the Azerbaijani leadership regarding any
kind of unilateral concessions by Armenia," Sergey Minasyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. "Moreover, Azerbaijan was reminded of
inadmissibility of blackmail and resumption of hostilities," he said.
On July 19, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that
the five-sided meeting between the heads of delegations of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chair counties and Armenian and Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministers in Almaty was useful, although Baku's destructive behavior
hampered signature of a five-sided statement. Nalbandian also attached
importance to the fact that selective approach to the principles
fixed in the statements is inadmissible.
On July 19, Board chairman of the Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan said that it's obvious that the interest
towards the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has grown, what can be proved by
recent statements issued by Presidents and Foreign Ministers of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries. "The latest statement in Almaty
reads that the sides should resolve the conflict through peaceful
means and none of the co-chair countries will speed up the process
artificially," said Grigoryan.
The same day, member of Heritage parliamentary group Armen Martirosyan
said that the statement by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chair countries in Almaty was addressed not only to
Azerbaijan, but also to Armenia, as mediators always try to balance the
situation. Being a regular one, the statement cannot have any impact on
the conflict resolution, Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
Meanwhile, member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Naira
Zohrabyan said that the aforementioned statement contains a certain
message for Azerbaijan, suggesting that some offers should not be
withdrawn from the discussed document's text to be presented as main
issues of the negotiation process. "It is high time that the statements
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen have certain addressees - so that
speaking about the incident near Chaylu settlement, they mention the
side responsible for it," Zohrabyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
On July 20, Member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Vardan
Bostanjyan told a press conference that in reality Azerbaijan is a
project, and not a state created in 1918. Answering a question on
possibility of hostilities resumption by Azerbaijan, he said that
Azerbaijan will not unleash a war against NKR. "However, if it happens,
the Armenian troops will reach the Caspian Sea, what we wanted to do
in the mean time, but were not allowed," said Bostanjyan.
Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit,
Budgetary and Economic Affairs, member of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia Gagik Minasyan said that the meeting on the sidelines of an
informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Almaty can be considered
summarization of the results of an important period, which lasted for
1-2 years. "Time is on Armenia's side; moreover, the international
community gradually comes to conclusions, which proceed from norms of
the international law. Thus, I attach importance to statements made
by Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,"
noted Minasyan.
Armenia is ready to use St. Petersburg suggestions as basis for
negotiations; it's now Azerbaijan's turn to decide on its position,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated. As Armenian leader pointed
out at the July 21 meeting with Armenian Diaspora youth, members of
Miasin movement and Return Home program, "Suggestions were put forward
at St. Petersburg meeting, with Armenia and Azerbaijan expected to
express their positions. Negotiations will be resumed upon Azerbaijan's
accepting OSCE MG's suggestions."
Referring to the Armenian-Turkish normalization, Sargsyan said that
Armenia demonstrated political will towards normalization of ties with
Turkey and expects Turkey to undertake a return step. "The whole world
urges Turkey to demonstrate political will in ratifying Protocols,
however Ankara turns a deaf ear, calling on Armenia to show political
will," Serzh Sargsyan noted during the meeting. "Despite Turkish
authorities' statements, Armenia is ready to accept any expression
of friendship," the Armenian leader concluded.
On July 21, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute,
historian Hayk Demoyan said that resumption of the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols ratification is impossible in the near future. "Currently it
is preferential for Turkey not to open the border with Armenia against
the background of aggravated Kurdish problem," Demoyan told a press
conference in Yerevan. "Currently, I do not see any prerequisites
for the border opening," concluded Demoyan.
The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo has become
another heatedly debated topic in Armenia. On July 22, Secretary of
Republican Party of Armenia parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov
said that the ruling of the International Court of Justice on
lawfulness of Kosovo's secession from Serbia will have a positive
impact on international recognition of NKR's independence. The ruling
indicates that the people's right to self-determination gradually
prevails over the principle of territorial integrity, Sharmazanov
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
Head of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan said that the
ruling of the International Court of Justice may have a positive
impact on recognition of NKR's independence. Nobody will be able
to explain why such decision is applicable to Kosovo, but not to
Karabakh, Safaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. According to him,
Armenia should apply to the International Court of Justice to solve
the NKR conflict.
On July 23, Head of the Modus Vivendi Centre Ara Papian said that it
was absolutely within the law for the highest tribunal of the United
Nations - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - to conclude that
"the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo does not violate
international law. It was within the law first of all because the right
to direct one's own political affairs, through the establishment of
self-determination, is included in the UN Charter [Article 1(2)] as one
of the main goals of the organization, Papian told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. According to him, international law does not consist of any
criterion by which the right to independence is reserved for, say,
Serbs, Georgians or Caucasian Tatars, but that very right is denied
to Albanians, Megrelians or the Talysh. "International law is not up
for auction in the 21st century. International law is not for sale
as an oil derrick," concluded Papian.
On July 23, ARFD parliamentary group leader Vahan Hovhannesyan told
a press conference in Yerevan that he welcomes the resolution of
International Court of Justice on Kosovo's independence, believing
it to be a new tool in Armenia's struggle for recognition of NKR
independence. Charactering world court resolution as a just verdict,
the ARFD parliamentary group leader said: "Formation of a new state
through secession from another does not run counter to international
law."
The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo independence
is unprecedented. For the first time, the International court
simultaneously covered two principles: territorial integrity and
people's right to self-determination, ruling that a declaration of
independence does not violate any UN resolution or international law,
stated Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan. "People's
right to self-determination is one of UN goals, with territorial
integrity being a principle used to attain the goal. With a right to
self-determination, territorial integrity is of secondary importance,
which was suggested by the Hague court ruling," Shavarsh Kocharyan
specified.
Arshaluys Mghdesyan
PanARMENIAN.Net
July 24, 2010
The political week in Armenia started with congresses of the Armenian
National Movement and Armenakan Ramkavar-Azatakan party. On July 17,
Yerevan hosted the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement. In
his remarks, Armenia's first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan said that
Armenia's economic development is impossible without resolution of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict and normalization of relations with Turkey.
Ter-Petrosyan also voiced confidence that the key to Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation is in Russia's hands.
On July 20, former RA parliamentary speaker Karapet Rubinyan
left the Armenian National Movement (ANM), explaining reasons
behind his resignation in a letter to the newly-elected ANM
administration. Some of the reasons cited were "forged elections into
movement administration, lack of future vision and defeatist moods in
a struggle against current authorities, expressed by movement leader
at recent session." Referring to reasons of Rubinyan's withdrawal
from the party, Chairman of the newly elected board of the Armenian
National Movement (ANM) Aram Manukyan said that Rubinyan's accusations
concerning falsification of the ANM board election during the party's
16th congress are baseless. "The system of our party's board election
is so transparent that falsifications are impossible," Manukyan told
a press conference on July 21.
On July 17, Yerevan hosted the second congress of Armenakan-Ramkavar
Azatakan party with participation of 100 delegates. Leader of the
party Hakob Avetikyan submitted a report on the activity of the
party's republican board during a year. Referring to the economic
and political situation in Armenia, Hakob Avetikyan noted that
Armenakan-Ramkavar Azatakan party can be a balancing force among
opposition and pro-governmental blocs of Armenia.
On July 17, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair
countries released a statement. Below are comments of Armenian
politicians on it. Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia
parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov said that the statement is an
obvious case when the Azerbaijani leadership's bellicose statements
are not left without response. "This proves that the Azerbaijani
leadership's bellicose statements intended for the internal use lead
the country into a deadlock. Meanwhile, a "yellow card" was given to
Azerbaijan in Almaty on July 17," concluded Sharmazanov.
"The expectations for the meeting were quite different. Baku
expected "a schedule of withdrawal of Armenian troops from Karabakh"
to be signed, political analyst Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan told a
PanARMENIAN.Net reporter on July 18. According to him, Yerevan
expected a regular fruitless meeting. Both sides were wrong, said
Melik-Shahnazaryan.
Deputy Director of Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said that the
ministerial meeting in Almaty has registered a number of important
factors in the Karabakh process. "The OSCE Minsk Group underscored
that the talks should continue on the basis of the current status
quo, with the principles of Helsinki Final Act being equal. The
statement disillusioned the Azerbaijani leadership regarding any
kind of unilateral concessions by Armenia," Sergey Minasyan told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. "Moreover, Azerbaijan was reminded of
inadmissibility of blackmail and resumption of hostilities," he said.
On July 19, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said that
the five-sided meeting between the heads of delegations of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chair counties and Armenian and Azerbaijan Foreign
Ministers in Almaty was useful, although Baku's destructive behavior
hampered signature of a five-sided statement. Nalbandian also attached
importance to the fact that selective approach to the principles
fixed in the statements is inadmissible.
On July 19, Board chairman of the Center on Globalization and Regional
Cooperation Stepan Grigoryan said that it's obvious that the interest
towards the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has grown, what can be proved by
recent statements issued by Presidents and Foreign Ministers of the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries. "The latest statement in Almaty
reads that the sides should resolve the conflict through peaceful
means and none of the co-chair countries will speed up the process
artificially," said Grigoryan.
The same day, member of Heritage parliamentary group Armen Martirosyan
said that the statement by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chair countries in Almaty was addressed not only to
Azerbaijan, but also to Armenia, as mediators always try to balance the
situation. Being a regular one, the statement cannot have any impact on
the conflict resolution, Martirosyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
Meanwhile, member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Naira
Zohrabyan said that the aforementioned statement contains a certain
message for Azerbaijan, suggesting that some offers should not be
withdrawn from the discussed document's text to be presented as main
issues of the negotiation process. "It is high time that the statements
of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmen have certain addressees - so that
speaking about the incident near Chaylu settlement, they mention the
side responsible for it," Zohrabyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
On July 20, Member of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary group Vardan
Bostanjyan told a press conference that in reality Azerbaijan is a
project, and not a state created in 1918. Answering a question on
possibility of hostilities resumption by Azerbaijan, he said that
Azerbaijan will not unleash a war against NKR. "However, if it happens,
the Armenian troops will reach the Caspian Sea, what we wanted to do
in the mean time, but were not allowed," said Bostanjyan.
Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Financial-Credit,
Budgetary and Economic Affairs, member of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia Gagik Minasyan said that the meeting on the sidelines of an
informal meeting of OSCE Foreign Ministers in Almaty can be considered
summarization of the results of an important period, which lasted for
1-2 years. "Time is on Armenia's side; moreover, the international
community gradually comes to conclusions, which proceed from norms of
the international law. Thus, I attach importance to statements made
by Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries,"
noted Minasyan.
Armenia is ready to use St. Petersburg suggestions as basis for
negotiations; it's now Azerbaijan's turn to decide on its position,
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated. As Armenian leader pointed
out at the July 21 meeting with Armenian Diaspora youth, members of
Miasin movement and Return Home program, "Suggestions were put forward
at St. Petersburg meeting, with Armenia and Azerbaijan expected to
express their positions. Negotiations will be resumed upon Azerbaijan's
accepting OSCE MG's suggestions."
Referring to the Armenian-Turkish normalization, Sargsyan said that
Armenia demonstrated political will towards normalization of ties with
Turkey and expects Turkey to undertake a return step. "The whole world
urges Turkey to demonstrate political will in ratifying Protocols,
however Ankara turns a deaf ear, calling on Armenia to show political
will," Serzh Sargsyan noted during the meeting. "Despite Turkish
authorities' statements, Armenia is ready to accept any expression
of friendship," the Armenian leader concluded.
On July 21, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute,
historian Hayk Demoyan said that resumption of the Armenian-Turkish
Protocols ratification is impossible in the near future. "Currently it
is preferential for Turkey not to open the border with Armenia against
the background of aggravated Kurdish problem," Demoyan told a press
conference in Yerevan. "Currently, I do not see any prerequisites
for the border opening," concluded Demoyan.
The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo has become
another heatedly debated topic in Armenia. On July 22, Secretary of
Republican Party of Armenia parliamentary group Eduard Sharmazanov
said that the ruling of the International Court of Justice on
lawfulness of Kosovo's secession from Serbia will have a positive
impact on international recognition of NKR's independence. The ruling
indicates that the people's right to self-determination gradually
prevails over the principle of territorial integrity, Sharmazanov
told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
Head of Heritage parliamentary group Stepan Safaryan said that the
ruling of the International Court of Justice may have a positive
impact on recognition of NKR's independence. Nobody will be able
to explain why such decision is applicable to Kosovo, but not to
Karabakh, Safaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. According to him,
Armenia should apply to the International Court of Justice to solve
the NKR conflict.
On July 23, Head of the Modus Vivendi Centre Ara Papian said that it
was absolutely within the law for the highest tribunal of the United
Nations - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - to conclude that
"the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo does not violate
international law. It was within the law first of all because the right
to direct one's own political affairs, through the establishment of
self-determination, is included in the UN Charter [Article 1(2)] as one
of the main goals of the organization, Papian told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter. According to him, international law does not consist of any
criterion by which the right to independence is reserved for, say,
Serbs, Georgians or Caucasian Tatars, but that very right is denied
to Albanians, Megrelians or the Talysh. "International law is not up
for auction in the 21st century. International law is not for sale
as an oil derrick," concluded Papian.
On July 23, ARFD parliamentary group leader Vahan Hovhannesyan told
a press conference in Yerevan that he welcomes the resolution of
International Court of Justice on Kosovo's independence, believing
it to be a new tool in Armenia's struggle for recognition of NKR
independence. Charactering world court resolution as a just verdict,
the ARFD parliamentary group leader said: "Formation of a new state
through secession from another does not run counter to international
law."
The ruling of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo independence
is unprecedented. For the first time, the International court
simultaneously covered two principles: territorial integrity and
people's right to self-determination, ruling that a declaration of
independence does not violate any UN resolution or international law,
stated Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan. "People's
right to self-determination is one of UN goals, with territorial
integrity being a principle used to attain the goal. With a right to
self-determination, territorial integrity is of secondary importance,
which was suggested by the Hague court ruling," Shavarsh Kocharyan
specified.
Armenia’s parliamentary diplomacy should initiate n recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh republic: expert
YEREVAN, July 27, /ARKA/. Karen Bekarian, head of a non-governmental
organization, called European Integration, urged today Armenia’s
parliament to launch consultations with lawmakers from friendly
countries on recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last
Thursday to upheld the international legitimacy of Kosovo’s secession
from Serbia.
Speaking at a news conference Karen Bekarian said the ICJ ruling is an
important event creating a “new political situation” in the Karabakh
conflict zone and opening large avenues for Armenian parliament and
its standing committees as well as Armenian delegations to various
international organizations to advocate the recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his words, the ICJ ruling will have a certain impact on the future
pace of the negotiations on the peaceful resolution of the conflict,
but Armenia will be constrained in its moves. He said also Armenian
civic society as well as tits vast Diaspora should have their say in
this issue.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 after the
predominantly Armenian-populated enclave declared about secession from
Azerbaijan As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet
Union and removed the powers held by the enclave's government, the
Armenian majority voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from
Azerbaijan and in the process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late
winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including
Europe's OSCE’s failed to bring an end resolution that both sides
could work with. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured
regions outside the enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the
Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held
and currently control seven regions beyond the administrative borders
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Almost 1 million people on both sides have been displaced as a result
of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994
and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, have been held ever
since by Armenia and Azerbaijan. -0-
Nagorno-Karabakh republic: expert
YEREVAN, July 27, /ARKA/. Karen Bekarian, head of a non-governmental
organization, called European Integration, urged today Armenia’s
parliament to launch consultations with lawmakers from friendly
countries on recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
The United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last
Thursday to upheld the international legitimacy of Kosovo’s secession
from Serbia.
Speaking at a news conference Karen Bekarian said the ICJ ruling is an
important event creating a “new political situation” in the Karabakh
conflict zone and opening large avenues for Armenian parliament and
its standing committees as well as Armenian delegations to various
international organizations to advocate the recognition of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
In his words, the ICJ ruling will have a certain impact on the future
pace of the negotiations on the peaceful resolution of the conflict,
but Armenia will be constrained in its moves. He said also Armenian
civic society as well as tits vast Diaspora should have their say in
this issue.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 after the
predominantly Armenian-populated enclave declared about secession from
Azerbaijan As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet
Union and removed the powers held by the enclave's government, the
Armenian majority voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from
Azerbaijan and in the process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of
Nagorno-Karabakh.
Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late
winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including
Europe's OSCE’s failed to bring an end resolution that both sides
could work with. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces captured
regions outside the enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the
Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held
and currently control seven regions beyond the administrative borders
of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Almost 1 million people on both sides have been displaced as a result
of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994
and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, have been held ever
since by Armenia and Azerbaijan. -0-
Recognition of The Republic
YEREVAN, July 27. /ARKA/. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) should start the process of
international recognition of the republic, head of NGO “European
Integration” Karen Bekaryan considers.
The best opportunity for starting the process is the decision of UN
International Court. NKR, not being one of the parties of
negotiations, has no constraints in its actions and can use all
opportunities for recognition of independence of the republic.
In July, UN International Court made consultative conclusion In Hague,
according to which self- proclamation of independence of Kosovo does
not contradict the norms of international law. The court states that
international law does not contain any visible ban for proclamation of
independence.
As for possible steps of Armenia in this direction, Bekaryan said that
Armenian side should use all international platforms, organizations
and civil society for the promotion of this process.
Armenia should also use the potential of parliament diplomacy of
National Assembly of Armenia, its instruments, standing committees on
foreign relations and European integration for recognition of NKR
independence by friendly states.
“This issue should have been priority for the structures of Armenian
Diaspora”, he said.
Karabakh conflict started in 1988 after announcement of coming out of
Nagorno- Karabakh from Azerbaijan. On December 10, 1991 referendum
took place in Nagorno- Karabakh where 99.89% agreed to become
independent from Azerbaijan. On May 12, 1994 military actions were
terminated in the zone. About 25-30 thousand people died from each
side and about 1 million had to leave their houses.
Cease-fire continues till now. From 1992 till present negotiations are
conducted on peaceful regulation of the conflict in the frames of
Minsk Group of OSCE, co-chairmen of which are USA, Russia and
France.–0—
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