DAVIT SHAHNAZARIAN: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES ARE PURSUING POLICY AIMED AT
NON-SETTLEMENT OF KARABAKH CONFLICT

YEREVAN, October 11 (Noyan Tapan). The NKR authorities are now pursuing
a policy of non-settlement of the Karabakh conflict aiming to prolong
their tenure, ANM (Armenian national Movement) board member Davit
Shahnazarian made this statement during his October 9 meeting with
reporters at the “Azdak” (“Stimulus”) club of the “Constitutional
Right” Union. According to him, Robert Kocharian and Ilham Aliyev
are just making another attempt to “imitate” a settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Testifying to this are the agreements
reached between the two foreign ministers in Prague which were later
declined by the presidents. As for the Astana meeting held with the
mediation of Russia, it gave occasion to a tougher position on part of
both countries. According to the speaker, the solution to the problem
should be based on mutual compromise and aimed at ensuring territorial
integration, because it is impossible to increase the living standards
of the Armenian population whithout it. The conflict, according to him,
should be settled stage by stage, since “there is no other alternative,
and the package version is just a way of non-settlement.” That is to
say, “as long as we have a an opportunity to cede anyhting and get
something else instead we must agree to this kind of settlement.” The
territories surrounding Karabakh, Shahnazarian said, are solving the
problem of Karabakh’s security, “and if we cede anything, if we give
a small part of territory, we should get security guarantees instead,
and it is the international community rather than Azerbaijan that
should give those guarantees.” As a result, Azerbaijan returns some
territories, and returns refugees to those territories, instead the
blockade against Armenia is lifted and the country gets a chance to
participate in the regional integration processes, Karabakh receives
security guarantees, whereas the issue of its status is put off on an
unknown period of time. Both Kocharian’s and Aliyev’s positions over
the Karabakh settlement, Shahnazarian stated, are beyond real politics,
and the current situation seriously jeopardizes the security of both
Karabakh and Armenia. The non-settlement policy gives occasion to new
complications, especially, the possibility that Azerbaijan may shift
from the status of an agressor to that of a victim. In connection
with closing Verin Lars’s border-crossing point by Russia, Davit
Shahnazarian said Russia has taken this step in reply to Armenia’s
decision to send a military unit to Iraq. The speaker also said
Armenia should not obstruct Turkey’s accession to the EU and should
not make the Armenian Genocide a “small change” in the two countries’
relations. Turkey is playing quite a great role in ensuring security
in the Caucasian region and opening Armenian-Turkish border will have
a positive influence on the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress