ARKADY GHUKASYAN COMMENTS ON ALIYEV’S STATEMENT

AZG Armenian Daily
09/07/2009

Armenia’s Ambassador-at-Large, ex-President of the Nagorno Karabakh
Republic Arkady Ghukasyan commented on the recurrent harsh statement
of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who declared that he does not
see any opportunity for the existence of Nagorno Karabakh outside its
borders and the question of Karabakh’s status is not on the agenda
today. "Having inherited Azerbaijan, Aliyev jr. pretends not to see
and not to remember much," Arkady Ghukasyan said RIA Novosti. "He
does not see the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Moreover, from the height
of his potentially unchangeable dictatorial power he does not see
the democratic development of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, does
not see the NKR territories occupied by Azerbaijan, does not see
the hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan and
some regions of Karabakh, where his predecessors carried out ethnic
cleansings. Aliyev does not remember that the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
established itself as a full-fledged state in line with all norms of
international law. He does not remember the massacre of Armenians all
over Azerbaijani territory (Sumgayit, Kirovabad, Shamkhor, Baku…). He
does not remember that it launched a large-scale aggression against the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic, as a result of which both parties suffered
human and material losses. He does not remember how inglorious
that adventurism ended for Azerbaijan and does not remember with
whom it had to conclude a cease-fire agreement in 1994. Aliyev does
not listen to the calls of the international community to stop the
militant rhetoric, to take the snipers away from the line of contact,
to stop the hostile propaganda. He listens only to himself, but tries
to speak from the viewpoint of interests of the mediators, Armenia,
and even the people of Nagorno Karabakh. Even speaking about peace,
Aliyev threatens with war. Azerbaijan has already launched war once. It
would be logical for Aliyev to ask himself where he was hiding when
his peers were being sent to the front.The statements of Azeri lead
irm that they are not ready for mutual concessions. Living in the
world of illusions, Aliyev actually distorts the negotiation process."