RA AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: PEOPLE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH TO HAVE RIGHT OF
SELF-DETERMINATION

PanArmenian News Network
July 18 2005

18.07.2005 08:24

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The future of Kosovo has indeed been a subject of
very open and public discussions lately, with important statements by
U.S. government officials. No matter to what extent the Administration
favors the principle of full sovereignty of Kosovo, they find that the
final status must be a result of negotiation process, RA Ambassador
to the U.S Tatul Margarian stated in an interview with Armenpress
news agency. “We understand the international community is not ready
to shoulder entire responsibility and suggest a universal solution
to all those cases or to impose ready-made solutions to Kosovo or
other cases. However, the international community could have been
more vigorous in supporting democracy and economic developments
in these regions. The argument that economic isolation will make
conflicting parties more malleable or eager to compromise is a wrong
stereotype. On the contrary, imposed isolation and economic scarcity
can contribute to ethnocentrism and make a conflicting party less
inclined to compromise. It is encouraging that the United States
and European Union have already worked to promote democratic values
and economic freedom in Kosovo, which will inevitably contribute
to a durable and sustainable settlement in whatever final form it
comes. The people of Karabakh have already pursued the right choices
on their own, exerting hard effort toward democratic consolidation
and economic development. The recent parliamentary elections there
showed the determination to adhere to democratic principles, and
this deserves encouragement and appreciation of the international
community. The independence of Kosovo will, of course, have an impact
on settlement of conflicts in other parts of the world. However, the
concerns by some within the international community that recognition of
Kosovo’s sovereignty may set a precedent necessitating the same status
everywhere are exaggerated since each case will be judged on its own
merits. After all, there have been several examples of application
of the right to self-determination, in one form or another, both by
conflicting parties and by the international community to prevent
or to settle existing conflicts. In the previous decade alone, this
right has been exercised, irrespective of the outcome, in the cases
of East Timor, Northern Ireland, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Southern Sudan,
Serbia and Montenegro, and elsewhere. As far as Nagorno-Karabakh
is concerned, its distinction from other conflicts in Eurasia is
readily acknowledged by the international community. I am convinced,
and it is widely shared, that any solution to the conflict will be
based on the fact and the right of self-determination of the people
of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is the core and the final settlement must
take it into account”, he said.