Nagorno Karabakh status and fate of territories should be decided by NKR people

PanARMENIAN.Net - Vahram Atanesyan, chair of the NKR Parliamentary Committee of External Relations, thinks the positive evaluation of the Armenian parliamentary election by the international observers is not related to the recent developments in the Karabakh settlement. "It is natural the parties which lost the election, whose hopes did not come true, make all kinds of comments," said Vahram Atanesyan.



Nevertheless, the NKR MP thinks the political forces and the people of Nagorno Karabakh today face a crucial choice. "The point is that the political parties are not inclined to evaluate deeply the current talks knows as the Prague process. These are complicated and responsible talks. And it should be accepted without reservations. It is wrong to act as if the talks and the events outside Karabakh have nothing to do with us. It is not so," said the chair of the parliamentary committee.



The international mediators, namely the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs are trying to reach agreement at the level of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan at least on the main principles of settlement. These principles are known, they were revealed by the Minsk Group co-chairs last year at the level of the Foreign Ministers of G8.



The NKR political forces uttered their standpoint on the Karabakh conflict during the parliamentary hearings in 2006 after which the parties made a joint statement. It was followed by the conclusion of the parliament. There is also the official standpoint of the state, however, according to Atanesyan, all the issues discussed during the talks must become subject of public debates. Are we ready for the settlement, for a compromise, or does the current situation satisfy us? At any rate, the issue needs to be discussed.



"Besides general principles of settlement there are nuances which need precision. For instance, "land communication with Armenia". After all, the NKR government needs not only the vote of confidence of people but also needs to know their opinion to present it to the international community.



I think the people of NKR are to solve the question of status of NKR and the territories surrounding former NKAR, because only people are empowered. As to the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as recognized states they have a lot of problems related to the borders, ecology, communications, which need to be discussed and solved. I think the talks must include two components: first, the breaking of interstate relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 1988; second, the problem of NKR declared in the territory of the former Soviet Azerbaijan, which confirmed its sovereignty through the adoption of the Constitution. And this problem should be solved by NKR and Azerbaijan.



We need to set up an institution of political and public debates, truth is born in polemics," said Vahram Atanesyan. One thing that worries is that the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached the definitive point when it should be either "yes" or "no", according to the him, KarabakhOpen reports.