SERGE SARGSIAN: “ONE NATION-TWO STATES” MODEL IS BENEFICIAL FOR THE
ARMENIAN PARTY”

YEREVAN, MARCH 31, NOYAN TAPAN. The Karabakh conflict settlement is
possible only in a peaceful way and on the basis of mutual
concessions. Serge Sargsian, the RA Defence Minister, the Chairman of
the Security Council attached to the President of the country, made
such a statement on March 30. Listing those concessions, which the
Armenian party may make, the Minister mentioned, that Armenia
considers as a fundamental concession the fact that Armenia hasn’t
recognized the NKR independence up to now, though the latter was
created in legal way and has existed as an independent democratic
country for many years. “It is a display of kind will in order to
assist the process of peaceful settlement in the framework of the
Minsk group,” the Minister mentioned. Reminding the principle placed
in the January 25 resolution of the PACE, that separation or gaing
indepedence of territories from any country must be implemented via
expression of will of people living in that territory, S.Sargsian
mentioned, that as the second concession, the Armenian party may agree
for another referendum to be held in the territory of the NKR, which
will be organized under the protection of OSCE and UN. According to
the Defence Minister, the third concession is that the Armenian party
may begin negotiations around the security zone of Karabakh. “I am not
a supporter of returning the territories forming the security zone
without taking into detailed account the promblems of the NKR
population’s security,” he stated. According to him, some concessions
may be made through negotiations, provided that the Azerbaijani party
gives clear guarantees of non-resumption of war, confirmed also by
guarantees of authoritative international organizations and
states. According to S.Sargsian, in the strategical sense “one united
people and two states” model is beneficial for the Armenian party: it
will allow the RA and the NKR to be represented parallelly and to
closely cooperate in the international structures. The usage of the
model will also exclude the charges of the NKR annexation addressed to
Armenia. The Minister mentioned that the leaders of Azebaijan and
Turkey have stated many times that the mutual relations of those
countries are built one the principle “two states – one
people”. Really, after the World War I, the Turkish people was
self-determined by creating two states, and there are many similar
examples in the international practics, S.Sargsian emphasized.