The people of Mountainous Karabakh were forced to pay by blood to defend their right to live freely in a war that was imposed on them. We must find solutions the implementation of which will not lead to further displacement and ethnic cleansing, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in his speech at Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs.
“We have to realize that the people of Karabakh consider that they have managed, on the one hand, to restore historical justice distorted during Stalin’s dictatorship, and, on the other, to safeguard the minimum conditions necessary for their physical survival. It is with this realization that we continue the talks with Azerbaijan and perceive the peace process and the efforts of the mediators,” Armenian leader said.
“The truth is that Karabakh was never a part of independent Azerbaijan. It was forced into Azerbaijan by a decision of the Soviet Union party authority, which, defiant of the League of Nations decision and the popular referendum as a means of determining the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, decided in its Caucasus Bureau session in 1921, under Stalin’s direct pressure, and in violation of the procedure, to annex Mountainous Karabakh on the condition of forming a national autonomy on these Armenian territories within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan. Throughout the Soviet period, the people of Karabakh never reconciled to this decision. I will not dwell upon details of Azerbaijan’s state-level policy of cleansing Karabakh from Armenians and the periodic uprising of the Karabakhis during the Soviet period, as I believe you all are well-aware of them. However, I would like to reiterate that the Autonomous Province of Mountainous Karabakh seceded from the Soviet Union fully in line with the Soviet laws and all the applicable principles and rules of international law, exactly as the 15 Soviet Republics did. To sum up this part of my speech, I would like to reiterate that Mountainous Karabakh was never a part of independent Azerbaijan: it was annexed to Azerbaijan by a decision of the Soviet Union party body. The people of Karabakh never put up with this decision, and upon the first opportunity, seceded from the Soviet Union fully in line with the laws of the Soviet Union and the applicable international law.”
“The problem has many sensitive and delicate aspects. I urge everyone to exercise utmost caution when making public statements on the problem of Mountainous Karabakh, to take into account all the dimensions, possible consequences, and the perceptions of the sides, and always to rely on the positions of the organizations that are familiar with the details of the problem and specialize in its peaceful resolution: in this case, it would be the OSCE. The problem can only be resolved in the context of the international law principles of the self-determination of nations, territorial integrity, and the non-use of force. All the stakeholders now realize this truth. Whenever one refers to the Mountainous Karabakh conflict, the notion of territorial integrity should not be emphatically underlined, especially that even if that notion is perceived to be the only one applying in the case of the Mountainous Karabakh conflict, it would not lead to its application in the form envisioned by Azerbaijan.”
“The Republic of Mountainous Karabakh is a well-established state with its institutions, army, and most importantly, citizens that exercise control of their fate. Today we, as well as the international community, witness Artsakh as a contemporary state that is implementing the ideals of freedom, sovereignty, and democracy; in spite of natural and manmade difficulties and grave challenges, it is progressing, strengthening its democratic institutions, government, economy, and culture, and defending peace. In its “Freedom in the World” Report, a reputable human rights watchdog, the Freedom House has ranked the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh among partially free democratic states, while ranking Azerbaijan as a non-free state. No further comments are needed here.
The obvious conclusion is that the times of colonizing a people living on its own soil have long passed. Our belief is that the settlement of the Karabakh conflict should be based on human rights and the will of the Karabakh people as an expression of their collective identity. It is the only way to achieve lasting, feasible, and peaceful settlement. The alternative to this settlement is the forcing of the Karabakh people back into Azerbaijan, which will inevitably lead to attempts of new ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Karabakh. There is no alternative here, especially given that Azerbaijan has labelled the vast majority of the Karabakh population as “criminals” over the last two decades. Hence, in view of the consequences of this alternative, we clearly rule out any pressure-driven concessions in the Karabakh process that would threaten the Artsakh people’s physical existence, security, and right to live in dignity,” Armenian President emphasized.
The <b>conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan</b> broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.
