Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
Oct 27 2007

Levon Ter-Petrossian: There is an abyss between the development of
Azerbaijan and Armenia

[ 27 Oct 2007 14:00 ]

`Armenia has continued to maintain the status quo during the past
decade. The international community didn’t show any reaction as it is
the number 1000 issue for them,’ Novosti-Armenia quoted Armenian
former president Levon Ter-Petrossian as telling a public meeting in
Yerevan on October 26.

He added that current efforts to keep the status quo is a correct
course theoretically because the world community will sooner or late
get fed up with the situation and recognize the independence of
Nagorno Karabakh and there is such a precedent in the world practice.

He said that this planned approach go right in the case of equal
balance of forces while there is a abyss (abysmal difference) between
the development level of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
`We should move to the philosophy of solution from the philosophy of
status quo. We shouldn’t be afraid of a compromise because it is the
only way leading to the effective settlement of the conflict,’ he
added.
The First President of Armenia noted that for him Karabakh issue has
always been a matter of human rights but not the problem of land or
territory.
`150,000 people aspire to live in freedom, pride and welfare. The
world community sees 150,000 people of Karabakh as a statistical
factor or national minority. However, Karabakh is not an ethnical
unit and not the Convention on National Minorities but the principles
of Self-Determination should apply to this problem,’ he said.
Levon Ter-Petrossian added that the problem is not that there is a
religious antagonism or non-possibility of coexistence between
Armenians and Azerbaijanis but the problem is that Azerbaijan will
not be able to provide security and welfare to the people of
Karabakh. /APA/