Karabakh’s proclamation of independence does not violate international norms

October 11, 2010 - 15:45 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that the Hague Court ruling on Kosovo answered a very important question – whether a unilateral secession violates the international law.

“The court gave an unequivocal answer – no, it does not,” Mr. Sargsyan told a briefing in Yerevan.

“The Karabakh people were forced to live in Azerbaijan’s composition, but they had not accepted it even during Stalin’s dictation, thus, they have unilaterally self-determined as soon as they had such an opportunity – during the USSR collapse. In response to it, Azerbaijan unleashed a war, in which the Karabakh people won. The difference between Nagorno Karabakh and Kosovo is that the people of Nagorno Karabakh won the war themselves, without NATO’s assistance. Now it is waiting for the international community to recognize its unilaterally declared independence,” President Sargsyan said.

He noted that each conflict has its peculiarities and own ways of resolution, however, legal approaches should be common.