THE ANATOMY OF RECOGNITION OF INDEPENDENCE OF KARABAKH BY ARMENIA
Naira Hayrumyan
KarabakhOpen
30-04-2008 11:43:16
On the last days of his presidency Robert Kocharyan came up with a bold
initiative to recognize the independence of Karabakh. The ex-president
stated about possible recognition in response to Azerbaijan which
declares to reject the talks mediated by the Minsk Group. However,
it was evident that the statements in Baku were an opportunity for
Robert Kocharyan to hold out his wish. We can only guess why he
had such a wish; maybe he always had the wish but no opportunity
arose. It is also probable that Robert Kocharyan tried to pass to
Serge Sargsyan who replaced him in his post. It is not ruled out
that it related to the political collisions in Armenia, and a loud
statement was necessary to offset them.
Nevertheless, the statement was made and the Armenian world hailed it.
Afterwards, somehow unnoticed, the idea of recognition was replaced
by a proposal to sign an interstate agreement between Armenia and
Karabakh. In addition, it was noted that the axis of the agreement
should be the provision that Armenia assumed obligation to guarantee
the security of Karabakh in case of military aggression.
The NKR National Assembly Committee of Foreign Affairs held a meeting
and heard the report of the ministry of foreign affairs. It was noted
that both the geopolitical reality and the basis of the talks have
changed, and it is necessary to take measures. Moreover, immediately
after the meeting the minister of foreign affairs Georgy Petrosyan left
for Yerevan to "consult his Armenian counterpart on the agreement". The
minister promised to release the results of the talks.
However, the idea of the agreement was also restaged. The idea to
replace the agreement with a parliament resolution occurred in the
National Assembly of Armenia, which outlined the "obligations" of
the executive.
However, this idea also failed and "on halfway" the resolution turned
into a statement in which the parliament "gives recommendations"
to the executive government. It is not binding and has no real force.
And finally on April 29 the parliament of Armenia passed the statement
on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The statement holds
that Armenia is the guarantor of the security of Nagorno-Karabakh, and
the peace talks are the only way of settlement of the conflict. The
parliament of Armenia offers the president and government of the
country to make more efforts and create more possibilities for
informing the international community about the essence of the
problem. The executive is recommended to conduct a more proactive
policy of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to shape the legal basis for
Armenia to guarantee the security and defense of Karabakh in case
of military aggression and use of force by Azerbaijan in accordance
with the international law. The statement underlines the threat of the
constant militaristic statements by Azerbaijani high-ranking officials
and the anti-Armenian propaganda aimed to thwart the peace talks,
as well as the unaddressed criticism of the international community.
That’s all. Hence the "threat" to recognize Karabakh transformed into
a trifling statement within a month.