EU and U.S. Should Support Aspirations of Nagorno Karabakh to Remain FreeMarch 29, 2006 - 16:18 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Washington Post published NKR Representative Vardan Barseghian's letter to the Editor in response to a March 11, 2006 op-ed column entitled "Russia's Shadow Empire" by Ana Palacio and Daniel Twining, reported the information and analytical department of the NKR MFA. Representative Barseghian's letter says: "The March 11 op-ed column "Russia's Shadow Empire" touched upon the "frozen conflicts" on the territory of the former Soviet Union. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remains "frozen" because of Azerbaijan's unwillingness to accept the democratically expressed will of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno Karabakh has never belonged to an independent Azerbaijan. It has the legal, factual and moral prerequisites to pursue its independence. The authors of the op-ed piece advocated rewarding Azerbaijan for its willingness to cooperate in ending this conflict. Do President Ilham Aliyev's regular threats to launch a new war against Nagorno-Karabakh count as goodwill? The European Union and the United States should support the aspirations of Nagorno Karabakh to remain free and discourage Azerbaijan from unleashing a new war. This would signal Azerbaijan that it should embark on more constructive negotiations to bring stability and economic cooperation to Europe's new neighborhood." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |