THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE NKR IS NOT A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION

3/vardan-barseghyan
12:45 pm | October 13, 2009

Politics

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Vardan
Barseghyan considers any discussion on territories as nonsensical.

"We must first discuss the cause and then the effects. The first
thing we must do is to solve the issue related to the status of the
NKR. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’s position remains unchanged and
that is that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can’t be settled without
the participation of the NKR. If Azerbaijan truly wants to settle the
conflict, it must be ready to sit down and negotiate with the NKR. No
decision will be acceptable for the NKR without our participation,"
said Mr. Barseghyan to "A1+".

He mentioned that the territories on which different interpretations
are made make up the territory of the NKR, which is established by
the NKR Constitution. The Deputy Foreign Minister of the NKR expresses
gratitude to the RA authorities for representing the interests of the
NKR during the talks, but he also stated that that is not enough for
the conflict settlement.

"Of course, it is better to negotiate than to wage a war, but any
resolution of the conflict is excluded without the participation of
the NKR.

Vardan Barseghyan finds that the NKR must express its viewpoints
and Azerbaijan is the one that must be the first to hear those
viewpoints. "The current format of negotiations goes to show that
Azerbaijan is not ready for the conflict resolution. The negotiations
process doesn’t include the prerequisites for real progress. Azerbaijan
and the NKR lack mutual confidence and Azerbaijan is to blame for
that. Azerbaijan currently rejects any contact with the NKR." Despite
the process of negotiations, the Deputy Foreign Minister says that
independence is not a matter of discussion. "We only face the issue
of international recognition."

Touching upon the signed Turkish-Armenian protocols and their impact
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution, Mr. Barseghyan said:
"Of course we are interested in Turkey’s interest in the conflict
resolution. As you know, to this day, Turkey has had a negative impact
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and has acted for the benefit of
Azerbaijan. However, we are in favor of having good relations with
all countries of the region and to have open borders."