ACCORDING TO RPA DEPUTY SPEAKER, ARMENIA IS MADE CONDITIONS TO RETURN KARABAKH TO BE INVOLVED IN REGIONAL PROGRAMS

Noyan Tapan
Jun 21 2006

YEREVAN, JUNE 21, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia remained out of the regional
developments. Andranik Hovakimian, the Board Seputy Chairman of
the Armenian National Movement (ANM) made such a statement at the
June 21 debate organized at the "Hayeli" club. According to him,
all those economic programs which have been implemented by now in
the region, went round Armenia. The most important among them is
the Baku-Jeyhan pipeline, possibility of countsruction of which the
Armenian authorities called in question. At present the same is said
concerning construction of the Kars-Akhalkalak railway which will
also go round the territory of Armenia.

Another participant of the debate, Samvel Nikoyan, the Deputy Chairman
of the Republican Party of Armenia, a NA Deputy mentioned that Armenia
has been made conditions to return Armenia into Azerbaijani staff for
Armenia is involved in regional economic programs. According to him,
the Baku-Jeyhan pipeline was a program of political meaning. "The only
prize for all these is Karabakh: Turkey and Azerbaijan which clearly
put the question, have a weighty participation in all those programs,"
he emphasized.

According to Andranik Hovakimian, the Baku-Jeyhan pipeline has never
been connected with returning Karabakh. Another issue is that Armenia’s
involvement in that program was provided by the political solution
of the Karabakh problem.

According to him, the Armenian authorities have stated for already
two months that the Karabakh issue entered deadlock. Hovakimian
mentioned that if the authorities are not able to solve this issue,
let them resign, and new authorities are elected during just elections.

According to Hovakimian, the ANM has stated long before that there
is no alternative for a phasal solution of the Karabakh issue. "The
problem of the Nagorno Karabakh status hinders the negotiations process
as it is obvious that the sides have opposite viewpoints concerning
the status: one must let the status aside and attempt to solve the
problem in another way, in the way the ANM proposed." According to
the speaker, by the phasal variant proposed in 1997 the circumstance
of Nagorno Karabakh’s factually being out of Azerbaijani staff would
be fixed internationally, "and we’ld do our best for Armenia and
Karabakh develop economically, and it becomes possible to negotiate
concerning the status already from positions of power."

According to him, the authorities are not ready for solution of
the Karabakh problem and do their best for "the status quo" is kept
"even at the price that Armenia occupies economically the last place
in the region."

According to Samvel Nikoyan, if the status issue is pushed backround
by the present variant as well, then it is at last done with the
conditions of holding a referendum. He emphasized that it is a great
compromise by Armenia and there is a misgiving that the great part
of the society or political forces may even not accept this variant
with which the authorities agreed as for conceding the important
acquisitions, the Armenian side will get a document which may clearly
not work in the case of change of geopolitical realities.