Haykakan Zhamanak , Armenia
Nov 1 2008

The consequences will be unpredictable

As we reported yesterday, maps of ceding the liberated territories
[seven Azerbaijani districts around Nagornyy Karabakh], which form
Nagornyy Karabakh’s security belt, are in the hands of a few Armenian
top military officers.

A veteran of the Karabakh war, French-Armenian Sargis Hatspanyan, who
has familiarized himself with these maps yesterday [31 October], told
Haykakan Zhamanak that there are three options that some people want
to make us sign. Russia is the author of one option, the USA has drawn
up the second one, and Europe offers the third option on behalf of
France. The Defence Ministry, as it appears, carried out an unofficial
a "line-of-duty investigation" yesterday [31 October] in order to find
out where the information was "leaked" from. When we asked the Defence
Ministry spokesman Seyran Shakhsuvaryan to comment on these options,
he said: "Where are these maps, and who are those top officials? When
you name them, I will tell." Shakhsuvaryan added: "I have not seen
anything like that, and there are 50 top officers, none of them have
seen such a thing."

[Passage omitted: Shahsuvaryan continues to deny that such documents
are available and that there are officers who have seen them.]

The head of the information department of the Nagornyy Karabakh
president’s administration, David Babayan, told us yesterday that,
when speaking about concessions, it is necessary to by all means take
into consideration one circumstance – mutual concessions should have
comparable standards.

Babayan said: "We cannot give land in exchange for a mere promise or
even in exchange for opening of the road, because they can close the
road tomorrow, and we cannot take back the territories, if we return
them. Also, there are territories on which the future of the Armenian
people, both in Armenia and Artsakh [Karabakh], depends. The talk is
particularly about Kalbacar [Azerbaijani district separating Nagornyy
Karabakh from Armenia, seized by Armenians in 1993]. Eighty-five per
cent of the water resources of the former Nagornyy Karabakh Autonomous
Region start here, like two vital points for Armenia – Arpa and
Vorotan [rivers] , which prevent the [Armenian] lake Sevan prom from
drying out. And lake Sevan accounts for 80 per cent of Armenia’s water
resources. Therefore, please understand, if this territory is
influenced by any hostile aims, the whole Armenian people will face a
terror, and the results will be unpredictable."

Babayan said that they understand that there should be concessions,
but this should be in the framework of comparable categories.
Territories versus promises is an unacceptable and impossible thing
for them.

"Moreover, we also have territories under Azerbaijan’s control. One
should speak about them as well. If we allow even a very small
incorrect approach in the Karabakh issue, the consequences will be
unpredictable. War is not beneficial for anyone at present, because
no-one knows how it will end, and who will win," Babayan said.