Azerbaijan De Facto Recognized NKR Existence
"Although not recognized formally by any government, Karabakh's continued march to secure lasting independence is irreversible, Nagorno-Karabakh's representative to the United States, Vardan Barseghian said. "There is no going back for us," he said. "Just because Stalin gave Karabakh to Azerbaijan does not mean that the international community has to reinforce what Stalin did." He continued: "What [Stalin] did at the beginning of the last century was against the will of our people. And now we are at the beginning of the 21st Century."
So far, negotiations among the key players since the 1994 ceasefire, notably through the OSCE's Minsk Group, have produced a lot of statements and occasional glimmers of hope, but no concrete progress on a lasting political solution.
But, clearly, Karabakh is not waiting for others to decide its future. It has been working to shore up its defenses while steadily improving its economy and the lot of its 145,000 people. Barseghian noted that GDP doubled from 2001 to 2005 (increasing to $114 million from $53 million), and economic growth last year was 14 percent.
Although Karabakh is still a very poor country in a seemingly precarious political situation, its people are evidently working hard to improve their economy and prospects for the future.
Asked about possible recognition of their republic, Barseghian said "there are positive tendencies" in that direction. He said "governments recognize the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has been established and functioning as a country, and more and more contacts look like regular government-to-government contacts." "However, Washington closely watches the developments in Karabakh including economic progress and democratization though the US government tries not to portray these as regular contacts, for obvious reasons" he added.
"I believe the world recognizes that we deserve to be free, and as a minimum we should avoid another disaster. International recognition of Karabakh's independence will discourage another attack by Azerbaijan. The ceasefire has held for 12 years, and we believe this is due to the natural balance of forces." He noted that Azerbaijan's oil revenue has been used in part to strengthen its armed forces, and Karabakh (and Armenia) stress to the US Congress and administration that a military balance should be maintained to prevent a new attack by Azerbaijan," Barseghian resumed, reports DiplomaticTraffic.com.
So far, negotiations among the key players since the 1994 ceasefire, notably through the OSCE's Minsk Group, have produced a lot of statements and occasional glimmers of hope, but no concrete progress on a lasting political solution.
But, clearly, Karabakh is not waiting for others to decide its future. It has been working to shore up its defenses while steadily improving its economy and the lot of its 145,000 people. Barseghian noted that GDP doubled from 2001 to 2005 (increasing to $114 million from $53 million), and economic growth last year was 14 percent.
Although Karabakh is still a very poor country in a seemingly precarious political situation, its people are evidently working hard to improve their economy and prospects for the future.
Asked about possible recognition of their republic, Barseghian said "there are positive tendencies" in that direction. He said "governments recognize the fact that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has been established and functioning as a country, and more and more contacts look like regular government-to-government contacts." "However, Washington closely watches the developments in Karabakh including economic progress and democratization though the US government tries not to portray these as regular contacts, for obvious reasons" he added.
"I believe the world recognizes that we deserve to be free, and as a minimum we should avoid another disaster. International recognition of Karabakh's independence will discourage another attack by Azerbaijan. The ceasefire has held for 12 years, and we believe this is due to the natural balance of forces." He noted that Azerbaijan's oil revenue has been used in part to strengthen its armed forces, and Karabakh (and Armenia) stress to the US Congress and administration that a military balance should be maintained to prevent a new attack by Azerbaijan," Barseghian resumed, reports DiplomaticTraffic.com.
