ROBERT KOCHARYAN: WE HAVE NO FORMAT FOR TALKS BETTER THAN THE MINSK GROUP

Armradio.am
20.03.2008 16:04

"We have no format for the negotiation process better than the Minsk
Group, but it does not mean that we will necessarily stick to that
format if Azerbaijan does not accept it," RA President Robert Kocharyan
told a press conference today. "If they don’t want to negotiate,
let’s not negotiate. We have always been ready for talks and we think
that it is the only way to resolve the issue. If they don’t want,
please, but at the same time if they do not negotiate they must think
how they see the future and who will carry responsibility for the
possible steps. My impression is a bit different: the recognition
of Kosovo’s independence raised a big wave of anxiety, and they
are trying to take certain steps to take the further initiative and
somehow counterbalance the possible application of that precedent,"
Robert Kocharyan clarified.

According to President Kocharyan, Karabakh has greater and more
grounded rights to be independent than Kosovo: Nagorno Karabakh’s
independence was proclaimed in September, 1992, the referendum was held
in December, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has all state institutions
and defends its independence and territorial integrity itself. "From
this perspective Karabakh’s rights are more advantageous, and this
negotiation process is more necessary to Azerbaijan that us. If they
continue in the same style, our next step should be recognition of
Karabakh’s independence and signing of a correspondent document with
NKR on reciprocal support, organization of common defense and other
issues. In any event, these would be my future steps.

By forcing the passage of the resolution on Nagorno Karabakh in
the UN General Assembly on March 14, Azerbaijan made an attempt to
counterbalance the Kosovo precedent, pretending that the precedent
does not apply to Karabakh. "There is the independence of Kosovo,
the process of recognition of this independence which is quite
understandable and is not conceived by all states in the same
way. However, feeling that danger and seeing that these conflicts are
rather alike and it’s very hard to find the right qualification of a
"precedent or no precedent," they are trying to counterbalance it with
such a resolution. However, their counterbalance was not correct and
far more states did not support them.

There are both a political pretext here and an attempt to solve the
issue in a military way," RA President noted.

According to him, the violation of the cease-fire, the passage of the
resolution in the UN and the attempts to dissolve the Minsk Group are
targeted at checking the level of strength of the Armenian side. "I
have no doubt that if they were confident Armenia and Karabakh
were weakened, Azerbaijan would make an attempt to succeed," Robert
Kocharyan noted.