"KARABAKH IS ARMENIA, BUT NOT REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA"
A1+
[06:30 pm] 24 May, 2007
"Everyone who contributed to Nagorno-Karabakh being omitted from the
OSCE Minsk Group format, is carrying the responsible for Karabakh’s
not participating in the negotiations", announced NKR Presidential
Advisor on Political Affairs Arman Melikyan. Clarifying the names
of the responsible, Mr Melikyan mentioned the names of Co-Chairmen,
who caused the alteration of negotiation format and the conflict
settlement negotiations turned to the meeting of Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents.
He finds this format "false", since it cannot express the essence of
the conflict entirely and find solutions to them. And as he noted,
the false format will become real when NKR re-establishes its rights
in the negotiation process. Arman Melikyan does not think that Robert
Kocharyan represents Karabakh in the negotiations, he represents
Armenia.
By the way, the Minsk Group Co-Chairmen also find the participation
of Karabakh in the negotiation process important. Melikyan also,
like the Co-Chairmen, was unable to mention the time when Karabakh
will be involved in the negotiations.
To the question of A1+ why in the US State Department’s Annual Report
on Human Rights Karabakh is presented as a territory occupied by
the RA, Armen Melikyan stated that the State Department often made
contradictory statements which were the result of the absence of a
concrete unified political idea on the problem.
Arman Melikyan also stated the responsibility of the
Armenian part pointing that no sufficient efforts were made
to prove that Nagorno-Karabakh should not be identified with
Armenia. "Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenia, but it is not the Republic of
Armenia", noted Arman Melikyan.
As to the return of the refugees, Arman Melikyan pointed out that the
Armenian part would agree with the return of the refugees, as well as
the return of the refugees from Baku, Kirovabad and Shahumyan. "If
a single principle is not agreed, then nothing is agreed", Arman
Melikyan almost repeated the idea of the Co-Chairmen.