THE DISAPPOINTMENT AND THE SENSATIONAL STATEMENT OF NKR PRESIDENT
Lragir.am
07-06-2007 19:03:52
NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan made a sensational statement in a
news conference on June 7 after the meeting with the OSCE Minsk
Group co-chairs.
After stating that the format of the talks Armenia-Azerbaijan is
destructive, Arkady Ghukasyan said in reality Azerbaijan uses this
format for propaganda to show that its problem is with Armenia,
not Karabakh.
"And it means something else, that without Karabakh the participation
of Armenia in the talks is unacceptable, and we need to choose the
right direction," says the president of NKR. He did not rule out that
in the nearest future this issue will be raised before the Armenian
government.
"I do not rule out that this issue will be raised because it stems from
the current situation and the stance of Azerbaijan. For instance, I am
disappointed with the stance of Azerbaijan," the NKR president says,
declining to mention the exact timing of raising this issue. He says
he has already raised this issue during the meeting with the co-chairs.
"The impression is or the false impression is Karabakh is indifferent
towards its fate, because it agreed and accepted this format. We cannot
demand from Armenia, Azerbaijan or the mediators. For instance, the
mediators today have repeated for a number of times the idea that it
is not our fault why Karabakh is not participating in the talks. The
OSCE Chairman-in-Office told me the same. Of course, I reminded them
that they must honor the decisions of the OSCE summit, where it is set
down clearly that the co-chairs are instructed to negotiate with all
the sides of the conflict. But they emphasize that they do not make
a decision, it is Armenia and Azerbaijan who must make a decision,"
the NKR president said. He made another sensational statement saying
that the "co-chairs ask him to help Armenia be more constructive."
At the same time, however, the NKR president does not think Armenia
is trying to solve the problem on its own with Azerbaijan, and not to
take into account the wish of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Arkady
Ghukasyan even says that Armenia represents the NKR interests to
the negotiations.
Nevertheless, Arkady Ghukasyan repeated once again that the people
of Karabakh will utter the definitive word. "Of course, it is always
possible to state that if we do not take part in the talks, we are
not interested in the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it
is not constructive. Afterwards they will accuse Karabakh of causing
the failure of the talks," says the NKR president, adding that he
does not think Karabakh can claim participation with the tone of
an ultimatum. However, it should not be ruled out either, at least
judging by Arkady Ghukasyan’s answer to the reporter of Lragir.am that
Karabakh is not interested in pursuing the issue of participation in
the talks seriously and consistently.
The reporter of Lragir.am asked Arkady Ghukasyan if the government
of Karabakh is well-aware of the contents of the talks, and if yes,
what he thinks the contents of the talks is favorable for Karabakh.
"We may have a maximalist stance. Of course, we would like only the
issues that worry Nagorno-Karabakh were discussed in the talks. The
status, security, etc. But we acknowledge that once you participate in
the talks, you must be ready to discuss any issue that the mediators
will put forward.
In this sense, perhaps we should not complain of the agenda, because
the issues that interest us are on the agenda. We cannot say it
is bad that the issue of territories is on the agenda, because
Azerbaijan is worried about this issue, considering that the prime
issue is the security and status of Nagorno-Karabakh. If the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh were not on the agenda of the talks, and we were
made to discuss the issue of the territories, it is clear that we
would reject and we refuse to take part in the talks," the president
of Nagorno-Karabakh says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
