RA President appeals to Azerbaijan to sign agreement not to use force

PanARMENIAN.Net - Nagorno Karabakh was not a part of independent Azerbaijan, the Armenian President stated.



"It was the Caucasus Bureau of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which attached Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan. History is well-known… The international community does not have a different vision," Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview with Euronews.



"Why did the international community acclaim the collapse of the Soviet Union and not consider Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan part and parcel of the Soviet Union? — still saying Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan? It is not logical, is it?" he said.



Asked what kind of compromises he is willing to make in order to achieve a peaceful resolution of Karabakh conflict, President Sargsyan said, "One cannot eliminate the consequences of this conflict without addressing its causes. And when speaking about the causes… we talk about recognizing the people of Nagorno Karabakh's right of self determination… the recognition of this right and its implementation. The other problems will be solved rapidly after that. The Armenian parts of this conflict, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, are profoundly interested in a swift resolution of this conflict. But a sustainable resolution that would allow for peace and security in the region, as opposed to giving Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh, which would spell the end of its existence."



"What does the international community propose to us? To solve this conflict on the basis of three principles of international law: firstly, self-determination; secondly, territorial integrity; and thirdly, the non-use of force. I propose, through you, the media, to appeal to Azerbaijan to sign an agreement not to use force. This would instill trust in the Armenian people of Karabakh and Armenia. And under these conditions of trust we would begin the negotiations for a settlement. We Armenians know very well what Azerbaijan's territorial integrity means. We've talked about it openly several times. The Azerbaijanis… can they say what the right of self-determination means for the people of Nagorno Karabakh? When we issue joint declarations about the right of self-determination, Azerbaijan is not talking about the Armenian people's right to self-determination but of the right of the main player in the conflict… the people of Nagorno Karabakh," he said.