SERGE SARGSIAN: ARMENIA EXPECTS FROM AZERBAIJAN ONLY RECOGNITION OF KARABAKH PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO LIVE FREELY
Noyan Tapan
May 09 2006
STEPANAKERT, MAY 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The President of the Nagorno
Karabakh Republic Arkady Ghukasian, the Armenian Prime Minister
Andranik Margarian, the RA Defence Minister Serge Sargsian, the RA
Prosecutor General Aghvan Hovsepian and other high-ranking officials
laid a wreath at the Stepanakert Memorial Complex on May 9 on the
occasion of the anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic
war and the liberation of Shushi. Then they went from Stepanakert to
Shushi to attend the liturgy celebrated in St Ghazanchetsots Church.
Responding to reporters’ questions, the defence minister stated with
confidence that Karabakh has won the war, expressing his disagreement
regarding the statement that victory is half the matter and the
most difficult thing is to keep it. “If you win by 80%, it means
you have not won, you have achieved success for a short time. I
think Karabakh has won. And if there are new disas! ters, we’ll see
then…,” he noted. As regards the opinion expressed recently by
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Co-Rapporteur on Nagorno Karabakh
Goran Lenmarker that there will be no peace without the cession of
territories, the defence minister said: “The cession of territories”
is a spacious word-combination. I am convinced and I repeat today
that there must be a peace or the solution of the problem only on the
basis of compromises and not unilateral concessions.” In his words,
today Armenia expects from Azerbaijan the same thing as 18 years ago:
Armenia expects Azerbaijan to recognize the Karabakh people’s right
to live freely. “I have no other expectation from Azerbaijan. We do
not want oil or some other thing. We just want them to understand
that the Karabakh people also has the right to live the way it wants
to.” As for the future fate of Shahumian region, Serge Sargsian
said that it depends on the negotiation process and versions of the
problem solution.