TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY DOES NOT MEAN INALTERABILITY OF BORDERS, ARMENIA’S DEPUTY FM STATED

armradio.am
18.06.2009 11:44

There have been statements following the meeting of the Armenian
and Azerbaijani Presidents in Saint Petersburg that there is certain
progress towards the settlement of the Karabakh issue. Asked to comment
on this, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia, Shavarsh Kocharyan
said: "Over years we have been hearing about "open windows" and "golden
opportunities." The fact that no real progress has been registered has
its reason: it is the non-constructive position of Azerbaijan. On one
hand the Azeri authorities threaten to apply military force, on the
other hand they sign a declaration on non-use of force. On one hand
they deny the existence of the "Madrid Document," on the other hand
they declare that Azerbaijan has adopted the "Madrid Document." On
one hand they sit at the bargaining table, on the other hand they are
busy with transferring the issue to other international structures and
searching for mediators," Shavarsh Kocharyan said in an interview with
"Aravot" daily.

Shavarsh Kocharyan considers that the predictions about the rapid
solution of the issue are groundless. "Such statements pursue certain
internal political purposes. It’s not serious to think that such a
complicated situation could be settled with just one step. It8 0s
impossible. Of course, there may be some documents in the future that
will reflect the initial approaches, but the parties are not ready
for that today," the Deputy Foreign Minister declared.

According to him, Azerbaijan lays the emphasis on territorial
integrity.

"However, in case of self-determination, territorial integrity does
not mean inalterability of borders. All the states and international
structures involved in the settlement process have been declaring about
the necessity of applying all three principles of international law,
i.e. self-determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force."

The solution proposed by Azerbaijan envisages autonomy for Nagorno
Karabakh within the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan. "Naturally, it is
impossible and Azerbaijan has to realize that there is no way back. No
one will yield security guarantees in exchange for vague promises. As
for the referendum, it was held still in 1991 in accordance with the
norms of international law and USSR legislation; Nagorno Karabakh is
a de facto full-fledged state. The mediators suggest a new referendum
as an option of mutual concessions. It will be worth speaking about
a new referendum only when Azerbaijan stops using the negotiations
as a cover for imposing unrealistic approaches, which means accepting
Nagorno Karabakh as a full party to the talks. It’s impossible to reach
a solution bypassing the status of NKR," Shavarsh Kochary an stated.