SENIOR RULING PARTY MP SAYS KARABAKH STATUS REMAINS A PRIORITY
Tigran Avetisian

Armenialiberty.org
http://www.azatutyun .am/content/article/1784917.html
July 24 2009

Armenia – Galust Sahakian, head of the Republican Party’s parliamentary
faction

A senior member of Armenia’s ruling party has insisted that the status
of Nagorno-Karabakh remains the core issue for the Armenian side in its
continuing negotiations with Azerbaijan over the disputed territory.

Galust Sahakian, head of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK)
parliamentary faction, said at a press conference on Friday that
"the status of Nagorno-Karabakh was a priority for Armenia in the
past and remains such in the present."

"We insist that Nagorno-Karabakh can never be part of Azerbaijan,"
he added.

Sahakian said a solution to the long-running dispute might not be
necessarily anywhere near in sight despite the recent publication of a
set of basic principles of its settlement by the leaders of the nations
leading international peace brokering efforts on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The senior HHK member argued that the purpose of the publication was to
make discussions "more open", which he described as "a positive step."

The presidents of the United States, Russia and France that co-chair
the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), issued a joint statement on July 10 outlining six basic
principles of the Madrid Document that the international mediators
submitted to the negotiating parties back in November 2007.

The published principles, in particular, concern the withdrawal
of ethnic Armenian troops from the territories surrounding
Nagorno-Karabakh and their return to Azerbaijani control, as well as
"an interim status" for the disputed territory pending "a future
determination of the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh through a
legally binding expression of will."

Other principles also include guarantees for the territory’s
security and self-governance in the transition period backed up with
a corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and international
security guarantees, including a peacekeeping operation, as well as
"the right of all internally displaced persons and refugees to return
to their former places of residence."

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs said earlier this week they will hold a
working session at the end of this month "to prepare an updated version
of the Madrid Document in accordance with the ‘L’Aquila Declaration’
of the United States, Russian and French presidents

The statement made by the three leaders on the sidelines of the G8
Summit in the Italian town came amid growing international hopes for
the resolution of the "few remaining differences" between Armenia
and Azerbaijan before they could finalize their agreement on the
Basic Principles.

However, the talks between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan
in Russian capital Moscow late last week failed to produce an
immediate result. Still, they were hailed as mainly productive by
the international negotiators, who hope to set up the next meeting
of the presidents in September.

The HHK’s Sahakian told the media that the Madrid principles are
acceptable for the Armenian side "only as a basis for negotiations."

Sahakian called media attention to what he described as "the positive
component" in the published principles.

"Though not in a legally binding document, but for the first time
it has been stated that ultimately solutions to the Karabakh issue
will be found internationally within the framework of the right of
nations to self-determination."

Sahakian insisted that discussions about any territorial concessions
can be held only after an agreement around the main issue,
i.e. Nagorno-Karabakh’s status.

The HHK parliamentary leader also warned against undue speculation
in the process.

"If we begin now to discuss what we are giving and what we are taking,
we will distort the main point," he said.