Constitution Referendum will not Affect Karabakh Process

PanARMENIAN.Net - Any outcome of the constitutional referendum will not have a direct impact on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, stated Armenian President Robert Kocharian during his meeting with students and the teaching staff of the Yerevan State University Faculty of Law. In his words, referendum on constitutional changes was held in Armenia in 2003 and these were adopted. "There was no catastrophe and the referendum outcome did not influence the conflict settlement issue. The matter should be viewed from another angle: what does Armenia acquire by passing the constitutional changes within the context of Karabakh settlement? After passing the constitutional changes Armenia's authority at the international arena will increase. This means we will have more allies in the Karabakh issue. Our word will be more accessible to the European community. By passing the changes and thus becoming the leader in the region Armenia will get another resource for solving the problem.



When commenting on Azeri President I. Aliyev's statement that «NK will never join Armenia and will not get independence» and answering a question on expedience of talks in that situation, Mr. Kocharian said, «There would be no sense in continuing the talks if the Armenian and Azeri parties were saying the same things. No one doubts Azerbaijan's or Armenia's position. NK is a free country. Confederate relations are available between Armenia and NK.» In his words in the issue of settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict some concessions are necessary. However, concessions in major issues mean defeat, R. Kocharian underscored.