Armenian speaker defends Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self-determination
Interfax News Agency, Russia
April 18 2008
STEPANAKERT April 18 — Armenian parliamentary speaker Tigran Torosian
has spoken in favor of Nagorno-Karabakh’s right to self- determination.
"From the viewpoint of international standards, Nagorno-Karabakh’s
right to self-determination looks infallible, and the constitution
of Nagorno-Karabakh absolutely meets European standards," Torosian
told journalists in Stepanakert on Friday, following a meeting with
Nagorno- Karabakh speaker Ashot Gulian.
"Nagorno-Karabakh, as an internationally recognized party to the
conflict, should also return to the negotiating process," Torosian
said.
In this light, he called for "consolidation of efforts of all
Armenians" to ensure international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s
independence, he said.
Torosian and Gulian called on European institutions to attach more
significance to conflict areas, particularly Nagorno-Karabakh. "The
populations in those territories suffered more than others, but
European institutions, whose activity is based on the protection
of human rights, have strange attitudes toward them. This should
not depend on whether these territories are recognized or not,"
Torosian said.
He described it as an important achievement that mediators in settling
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have mentioned the right to self-
determination in the past several years.