‘I HAVE TO DISAPPOINT ADVOCATES OF DOUBLE STANDARDS’: NALBANDIAN AT UN

Tert.am
29.09.09

Foreign Affairs Minister of the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandian
was in attendance at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly,
held in New York this week.

In his speech, Nalbandian referred to the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, by stating that we must work toward
eliminating not only nuclear weapons, but also "militaristic
aspirations of some states." Armenia’s Foreign Minister took
the opportunity to criticize Azerbaijan, referring particularly
to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmar Maharram oglu
Mammadyarov speech at the Assembly last week.

"The NK peace process, which is mediated by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE
Minsk Group, is moving forward. The Presidents and the Ministers of
Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet regularly to discuss
the principles of a comprehensive resolution of the conflict. Armenia
is convinced that in order to create an opportunity for progress in
the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict, the parties
should commit to refrain from steps that could hamper dialogue and
the peace process.

"On the international arena, Azerbaijan consistently misrepresents
the essence of the Nagorno Karabagh problem, like two days ago in this
forum, trying to smother ethnic cleansings and its policy of violence
against the people of Nagorno-Karabagh. The international community
recalls the Azerbaijani open aggression, large-scale hostilities
and war against Nagorno-Karabagh, also with the help of mercenaries,
closely linked to terrorist organizations. These ultimately claimed
lives of tens of thousand of civilians," said Nalbandian.

Continuing, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Armenia said that he
believes there is a foundation for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, assuming that the Declaration signed by Armenia, Azerbaijan,
and Russia’s presidents, as well as a host of other individuals,
are implemented.

"We believe that ther tlement of the Nagorno Karabagh problem, if the
provisions contained in the Declaration signed by the Presidents of
the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian
Federation on 2 November 2008, in Moscow, and also in the Declaration
of the Foreign Ministers of the Co-Chair countries of the OSCE Minsk
Group issued in Helsinki on 4 December 2008, and in the Declaration
adopted by the Foreign Ministers of all 56 OSCE member states on 5
December 2008, are implemented," said Nalbandian.

"According to these documents, the parties must commit themselves to
the peaceful settlement of the problem through negotiations, based
on Madrid Principles of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group."

Nalbandian concluded this segment of his speech by boldly defending
self-determination of peoples, saying that "self-determination is an
unconditional clause of international law":

"The Basic Principles, around which negotiations are held currently,
are anchored on the benchmark codes of the international law as
incorporated in the Charter of this Organization, the Helsinki Final
Act and other relevant international documents. The international
principles of Non-Use or Threat of Use of Force, the Self-Determination
of Peoples and Territorial Integrity are equally viable. Some
have long attempted to downplay the importance of the notion of
self-determination of peoples as a second-rate principle in the
system of international law, and inferior to that of ‘territorial
integrity.’ I have to disappoint the advocates of double standards:
self-determination is an unconditional clause of the international
law; it is about liberty, freedom of any people to choose its future
and fate, and to defend its collective rights whenever those rights
and that future are jeopardized. If self-determination was inferior
to territorial integrity there would have been only 52 member states
in the UN, instead of 192 present."