VARTAN OSKANIAN: THE ISSUE IN KARABAKH RELATES NOT TO TERRITORIES BUT TO POLITICAL STATUS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 12 2006

ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The Karabakh
people held a referendum not to make a decision concerning its
independence, but to have a basic Constitution. RA Foreing Minister
Vartan Oskanian said about it in the interview given to the Turkish
"Jumhurriyet" newspaper correspondent, adding that it is impossible to
imagine a country which will not have its Constitution, and Karabakh
has been an autonomous country for 15 years. In the Minister’s words,
the referendum on the Constitution has no relations with nationality
of the present population. If peace is established tomorrow, and
Azeri refugees from Karabakh return, they will need this Constitution
as well.

Responding the Turk journalist’s reminding that once Levon
Ter-Petrosian and Heydar Aliyev shooke one another’s hands and
agreed that Armenians withdrew from seven regions being under their
control, Vartan Oskanian said that the two Presidents never shooke
one another’s hands with such an agreement. He mentioned that the
OSCE Minsk Group’s proposal was adopted by the Presidents during those
days, according to which issues of the Karabakh problem solution must
be discussed stage by stage. Levon Ter-Petrosian spoke for it but
a strong opposition was formed against him. According to Marmara,
Vartan Oskanian also emphasized that the issue in Karabakh relates
not to the territories, but to the political status. In his words,
in the prepared agreements they speak about the territories till now,
whereas the Karabakh people insists on its self-government, on the
status of independently defining its fate, and the key for solution
of the Karabakh problem is just here. Vartan Oskanian reminds that
today it is impossible to leave defining of the Karabakh status aside
and be engaged in the territorial issues. In his words, the reason for
fixing some movement in the Karabakh issue during the recent period of
time is that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev finally approached
discussion of the status issue. And as for that statement of Ilham
Aliyev, according to which Azerbaijan will resort to military means if
the issue does not find peaceful solution, Vartan Oskanian expressed
a hope that it is not Aliyev’s sincere thought and was said just to
calm down the people, as if one develops the possibility of military
solution in his head, he may never make compromises and support
reaching agreement. In the Minister’s words, it is a great danger
for Azerbaijan, and if similar military solution was possible, Azeris
would resort to that variant till now: Azeris attempted twice and lost.