Armenian MPs boycott Karabakh recognition bill vote

PanARMENIAN.Net - The vote on the bill on Armenia’s recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s Independence, submitted by Heritage opposition faction was boycotted by the majority of MPs.

The majority of parliamentary groups, including ruling coalition of the Republican Party of Armenia and Orinats Yerkir; Prosperous Armenia and Armenian National Congress opposition party boycotted the vote.

10 out of 109 MPs present at the sitting voted in favor of the project, with one abstained, Novosti-Armenia said.

Prior to the vote, Heritage leader Zaruhi Postanjyan reiterated the importance of the bill, noting that Armenia’s recognition will prompt Artsakh’s recognition by other states.

The draft law envisaged de-jure recognition of the de-facto status of Artsakh since the Nagorno Karabakh Republic meets the requirements of the international law to sovereign states.

The document described interaction between the two states after Armenia’s recognition of Artsakh, as well as Armenia’s liabilities in provision and strengthening of the NKR safety, protection of Armenia’s national interests, Yerevan’s involvement in post-conflict restoration of Artsakh.

“Armenia mustn’t be the only country to recognize the independence of Artsakh,” Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan stated during the discussion of the bill. As he stressed, the NKR recognition is the main goal of the conflict settlement negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group. “However, Armenia mustn’t be alone here, as was the case with Turkey in the recognition of Northern Cyprus,” he said.

As he further noted, the OSCE MG-mediated talks envisage for Armenia and Azerbaijan to work out a unified approach in the solution of the conflict, with NKR to be further involved in peace deal negotiations. “The standstill in the talks is caused by destructive stance of Azerbaijan, rather than failure to involve Karabakh in the talks,” he said. “Armenia has long recognized the de-facto independence of Karabakh, cooperating with the republic as with an equal subject of the international laws. Over 100 equal-rights deals have been concluded between Armenia and Artsakh,” he said.