Armenian President briefs OSCE summit on real story of Karabakh conflict

December 2, 2010 - 11:23 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Peoples living in the OSCE area have been following with hope and anticipation for holistic implementation of the principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, Armenian President said.

“The people of Nagorno Karabakh are also entitled to expect the implementation of these principles and commitments, which are universal regardless of size of a country, its population, or natural resources,” Serzh Sargsyan stated when addressing the OSCE summit in Astana.

“Nagorno Karabakh proclaimed its independence in September 1991, followed by the Referendum on independence conducted in December in full compliance with the norms of international law, as well as the Soviet legislation which was in effect at the time. With the subsequent disintegration of the USSR, two legally equal state entities emerged: the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,” he said.

”In response to the policy of ethnic cleansing and full-fledged military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in 1992 against Karabakh, the unrecognized, yet legitimate state of Nagorno Karabakh, in the face of imminent extinction of its people, was forced to resort to its right to self-defense in full compliance with the norms of international law.

Failing to purge Nagorno Karabakh of its Armenian population by military action, in May of 1994 Azerbaijan was compelled to sign the tripartite ceasefire Agreement with Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia. That ceasefire could have become a basis for establishing durable peace in the interests of the people of the region.”

“The subsequent 16 years have been used by Azerbaijan, under the guise of negotiations and contrary to the efforts of the Minsk Group, 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. By evoking today the need to reclaim territories currently under the control of the Nagorno Karabakh Self-Defense Army, Azerbaijan fails to acknowledge that it is impossible to eliminate the consequences of aggression without addressing the root cause of the conflict,” President Sargsyan resumed.