November 25, 2008 - 14:43 AMT
Ara Papian: RA President should proclaim Karabakh part of Armenia
Leader of Modus Vivendi center, historian and diplomat Ara Papian said the Armenian President should take steps to reclaim the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia and proclaim Nagorno Karabakh as an integral part of Armenia.
"Nagorno Karabakh and Nakhijevan were never a part of Azerbaijan. As result of grave violations of the international law, these territories were placed under the administrative control of the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic," Mr. Papian told a news conference today.
Introduction of the right of nations to self-determination in the negotiation process did not provide results, according to him.
"Nagorno Karabakh was under the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijan republic but it was a part of the Soviet Union, as independent Azerbaijan did not exist at that time. According to the principles issued by the League of Nations and signed by Great Britain, France, Japan and Italy in 1920, demarcation of borders in the South Caucasus should be exercised on the basis of the demographical situation and ethnographical data," he said.