STYOPA SAFARIAN: IT IS ALARMING THAT NKR IS NOT MENTIONED AS A CONFLICT SIDE

Noyan Tapan

Dec 5, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The only bright point of the joint
statement signed by the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group
co-chairing countries, France, Russia, and the U.S. on December 4
in Helsinki is that unlike the November 2 Moscow Declaration, the
statement condemns any attempt to solve the conflict by war. Styopa
Safarian, the Secretary of the RA NA only opposition faction,
Zharangutiun (Heritage), expressed such an opinion at the December
5 press briefing. "In general, it remains alarming that NKR is not
mentioned as a conflict direct party, and the heavy burden left to us
from Moscow Declaration, the heritage left to us from our strategic
ally was that the conflict was moved to the Armenia-Azerbaijan plane,
just a bilateral negotiations format was mentioned at the level of
Presidents and Foreign Ministers, and it cannot but be alarming,"
he said.

Recording that the Nagorno Karabakh issue is already on the European
agenda.

S. Safarian expressed an opinion that everybody, including the
authorities, should realize in Armenia that the time of imitations in
the negotiations process has passed, and it is already time to make
concrete decisions. He also said that "the technology of extorting
little commitments is used at present, that is, some document is signed
in each capital, which is possible and advances the negotiations
process," and it can result in Armenian side’s "reaching rather an
unpleasant final point."

Touching upon Minsk Group American Co-chairman Matthew Bryza’s
statement made the day before in Helsinki that Armenia and Turkey are
close to establishment of diplomatic relations, S. Safarian noted
that American Co-chair’s "optimism is not a new phenomenon at all,
they saw windows of hope and possibilities in 2006, today they see
unprecedented positive atmospheres." "We see much worse facts in the
region, much worse precedents to solve the problem by a war, to make
ventures. Therefore, in this case if we speak about some diplomat’s
optimism, I rather consider it as a working duty or efforts aimed at
creating an atmosphere or awakening hopes, which can have nothing in
common with reality," S. Safarian said. He affirmed that no matter
how hard Turkey tried to change its positions to Armenia, at present
they are "still on a formal and not on a contents plane."