Richard Giragosian: Karabakh Belongs To Us

RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: KARABAKH BELONGS TO US

ArmRadio.am
13.06.2007 17:50

The current military-political situation in the region is dangerous
for both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, independent expert Richard
Giragosian told a press conference today. In his words, the situation
will change mainly connected with Georgia’s membership to NATO and
Azerbaijan’s military budget totaling one billion. According to
Richard Giragosian, the latter presents a great threat to Armenia’s
security. However, in the expert’s words, "if Azerbaijan wants to
retake Karabakh via war, then it is dreaming, since Azerbaijan is
not armed as well as it tries to present.

Cory Welt, analyst of the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, noted that when speaking about such conflicts, experts
mention the necessity of mutual concessions. According to him,
in case of the Karabakh conflict there are no signs of compromise
so far. Nevertheless, according to Cory Welt, the determination of
Karabakh status after the return of the liberated territories is a way
of conflict resolution. Simultaneously, the American analyst noted
that he realizes pretty well that these territories form a security
zone for Karabakh.

Objecting to Cory Welt’s remarks, Richard Giragosian declared that
the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh is closed. "Karabakh
belongs to us," he said.