Armenian and Azeri Presidents question necessity of compromise

PanARMENIAN.Net - The January tour of the OSCE Minsk Group, including talks with the unrecognized NKR authorities, has produced a new portion of optimistic statements coinciding with "exchange of civilities" between Yerevan and Baku on the threshold of the presidential elections, said Sergei Markedonov, head of the international relations department of the institute of political and military analysis.



According to him, the visit proved that the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan interpret the base principles in their own way and question the necessity of reaching a compromise.



"For Armenia, a referendum in Karabakh is a step toward self-determination of Karabakhi Armenians. The Azeri Constitution says that a referendum on status should be conducted throughout the republic but not on a separate territory. The sides again argue about domination of territorial integrity and the right of nations to self-determination," the Russian political scientist said.



"The fact that both principles are equal from the viewpoint of international law is neglected. There is no hierarchy of these principles. The Helsinki Final Act the sides often quote supposes any solution to a problem (both self-determination and territorial integrity) ruling out the use of force. However, the last phrase is excluded from the political thesaurus of the negotiation process. Baku tries to absolutize the territorial integrity while Yerevan appeals to ethnic self-determination and the "Kosovo casus". Thus, there will be no progress in talks unless compromise search becomes a pragmatic and beneficial process," he said, Politcom reports.