NOVEMBER 2 DECLARATION IS FIRST DOCUMENT, IN WHICH AZERBAIJAN’S TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY IS NOT MENTIONED, LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan

Nov 3, 2008

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 4, NOYAN TAPAN. According to the estimation of
political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazarian, the Declaration signed
by the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 2 is
the first document, in which Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity is not
mentioned. Instead, as he stated at the November 4 press conference,
the necessity to solve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict on the basis
of Madrid principles is mentioned, and those principles mention that
the people of Karabakh has a right of self-determination. According
to L. Melik-Shahnazarian, the other positive peculiarity of the
declaration is that the sides have agreed not to use force.

The main shortcoming of the document, according to the political
scientist, is the lack of NKR President’s signature. "When solving
the conflict by peace is spoken about, it is forgotten that
conflict’s border is the Karabakh-Azerbaijan border, and in case
of war’s resumption the military operations will take place there,"
L. Melik-Shahnazarian said.

As regards Russia’s role in the issue of signing the Declaration,
according to his observation, that country skilfully took advantage of
the circumstance that the United States is busy with the presidential
elections and the whole world is concerned with the economic crisis. L.

Melik-Shahnazarian added that the signing of the Declaration
indeed met Russia’s interests, but the concern that Russia wishes
to dislocate troops (peacekeepers) in the liberated territories is
ungrounded. According to him, such a step is not beneficial for Russia
after the Russian-Georgian war.

Meanwhile L. Melik-Shahnazarian affirmed his conviction voiced before
that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be finally solved not at the
negotiations table but in the battlefield.