Armenia concerned over the statement issued by Presidents of OSCE MG Co-chair countries

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia welcomes the consistent efforts of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs countries to assist parties to Karabakh conflict in reaching an agreement, RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said. Commenting on recent statement issued by Presidents Medvedev, Sarkozy and Obama, the Armenian Minister noted, “It’s important that the statement once again confirms the principles Armenia accepts as the basis for talks. The final status of Nagorno Karabakh should be determined through the free expression of Karabakh people’s will. Here belongs recognition of Karabakh people’s right to self determination, land corridor between Armenia and Artsakh, as well as international security guarantees.”

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Russian, French and U.S. Presidents’ statement regarding Nagorno Karabakh represents something new, according to Richard Giragosian, director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS). “It presses on Azerbaijan to return to diplomacy,” Giragosian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “The statement expresses concern of the international community on the recent attack of Azerbaijani military and demonstrates that G8 continues to see Azerbaijan’s threat to regional security,” he said.

Giragosian presumed that there is a danger of unexpected war in Karabakh conflict zone. “In case of war, it’s important for Armenia to decide on the tactics. Should the response to Azeri aggression be weak, Azerbaijan can escalate hostilities. Should the response be strong, it might bring to a fiercer aggression.

As to the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the expert said the atmosphere in the region is not favorable. “Azerbaijan behaves as a naughty child, who wants a candy. But instead of punishing, the international community prefers to give candies to calm Baku down,” Giragosian said.

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It is strange that the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries did not refer to the June 18 Azerbaijani subversive attack against NKR in their recent statement, said Vahan Hovhannisyan, head of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun parliamentary group. They also failed to mention Azerbaijan’s persistent warlike rhetoric, Hovhannisyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “The original text of the statement labels the territories surrounding NKR as ‘occupied’. Thus, I do not understand the enthusiasm of the Armenian Foreign Ministry.”

He also mentioned that the basic principles of Karabakh talks should be put on referendum.

The student union of ARF Dashnaktsutyun party has organized a protest against the statement issued by the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries. The demonstrators chanted “Azerbaijan should be punished” and “OSCE, do not betray your rules.” They also handed the OSCE Yerevan Office representatives a letter to be sent to the OSCE headquarters.

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Political analyst Yervand Bozoyan said that the presidential statement repeats the language of that made in L'Aquila in 2009. “There are some alarming nuances of translation. However, these do not constitute a threat,” he said.

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Secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov said that Armenia hails the efforts of the Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries for the Karabakh conflict settlement. “The statement made during G8 summit contains positive elements, specifically, the provision on Nagorno Karabakh's final status, which means recognition of NKR people's right to self determination,” Sharmazanov said. "Besides, it contains provisions on a land corridor linking Karabakh and Armenia, as well as on international guarantees for the NKR population.”

As to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Yerevan Sharmazanov said it’s an opportunity to hold constructive talks both regarding Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and Karabakh conflict settlement process. “It is also a perfect chance to strengthen Armenia-U.S. relations.”

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The statement issued by Presidents of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair countries has no legal force, stated Vahan Shirkhanyan, Social Democrat Hunchakian Party board member. “Madrid Principles are leading to a deadlock and can’t secure peace in the region. We don’t need to accelerate the Karabakh process. What we should do is to double efforts for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey,” Shirkhanyan said. According to him, a new war in the region is unlikely, despite Azerbaijan militarization. Asked about possibility of pre-term presidential elections, Shirkhanyan said that it can happen only if Armenian authorities sign an agreement on Karabakh unfavorable for the Armenian side.

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Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan, Commandos, did not exclude resumption of hostilities in Karabakh conflict zone. “If Azerbaijan unleashes a new war, it can dominate for a while, thanks to its military hardware. But, thanks to its experience and spirit, Karabakh defense army will rebuff the Azeri aggression,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan’s infrastructure is more vulnerable than that of Karabakh. “Our task will just be to disrupt the operation of pipelines,” he said.

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Arman Melikyan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Arstakh Republic, said that the recent presidential statement on Karabakh marked the end of another stage of Karabakh talks. “Presently, the superpowers can nothing but keep the process in deadlock. Things can get moving only thanks to initiatives of the conflicting parties.”