KARABAKH SETTLEMENT NOT FAR AWAY

Lider TV
Sept 3 2009
Baku

[Presenter] Armenians are overcome with hysteria. This was the impact
on both the diaspora and opposition forces inside that country of a
document agreed between Ankara and Yerevan on establishing ties between
the two countries. Protests have started against the authorities.

[Correspondent over archive video] The documents signed between
Turkey and Armenia cannot be described as pro-Armenian, Turkologist
Ruben Melkonyan has said at his news conference in Yerevan. In talks
like this, both sides should compromise and this is understandable,
he said. However, two points in the document are absolutely not in
favour of Armenia. One of them is that the sides recognize each other’s
territorial integrity. In Melkonyan’s opinion, historical Armenian
lands in contemporary Turkey are an integral part of Armenian national
conscience and we should stick to the idea of regaining those lands.

The Armenian Turkologist said that the second point in the document
that created a problem was about setting up an intergovernmental
commission that would research historical evidence. Turkish members of
the commission will try to question the so-called Armenian genocide,
whereas for Armenians, this issue does not present a disputable issue
that needs to be researched.

Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan has almost admitted
that Armenia has been put against the wall in the diplomatic front,
has softened its position to a large extent, and is forced to make
significant concessions. Asked by a journalist whether there would be
a common border between Armenia and Karabakh, Nalbandyan said that
there should be a reliable link between Armenia and Karabakh. You
may describe this link as a corridor, but you should not think that
it will be a road, this is not so. Uninterrupted or interrupted
communication is at issue, he said. It turns out that an end has been
put to Armenians’ plans to keep Lacin and Kalbacar.

Armenian political expert Stepan Grigoryan is also raising alarm over
attempts to force Armenia to make concessions. A rapprochement and
consensus has been recently observed between the USA and Russia in
the Karabakh settlement process, he said. This promises nothing good
to Armenia, he added.

Protests have already started over both the Armenian-Turkish
negotiations and the Karabakh settlement. While the Armenian diaspora
has limited itself to expressing its concern, the opposition has
already held a protest rally. However, the rally was not successful
and massive. This shows that the Armenian population too is fed up
and is looking forward to a settlement. Thus, this time round there
is hope that the negotiations will yield a result.