AZERBAIJAN DOWNPLAYS SELF-DETERMINATION, INSISTS ON ‘SELF-RULE’ FOR KARABAKH
Asbarez
Dec 2nd, 2009
A map of Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh and the liberated territories.
YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Azerbaijan insists on the restoration of its
control over Nagorno-Karabakh despite accepting peoples’ right to
self-determination as one of the core principles for resolving the
Karabakh conflict, Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov indicated
on Wednesday.
"Providing self-governance for Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan
will be a just and durable solution, and it can dramatically reduce
tensions and challenges for peace and stability in the region,"
Mammadyarov said in a speech at a ministerial conference in Athens
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
The remark highlighted the conflicting parties’ differing public
interpretations of the basic principles of a Karabakh settlement put
forward by the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group. The proposed agreement calls for the transfer to Azerbaijan
of liberated territories linking Armenia and Karabakh and a future
referendum of self-determination in the Armenian-controlled territory.
Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, reaffirmed
their governments’ overall support for those principles in a joint
statement on Tuesday that was also signed by top U.S., Russian and
French diplomats. They agreed that the conflict’s resolution should
based on the internationally recognized principles of non-use of
force or threat of force, territorial integrity and self-determination
of peoples.
Nalbandian described the joint statement as one of the "greatest
achievements of Armenian diplomacy." He was referring to the
statement’s reaffirmation that the parties will "reach an agreement
based, in particular, upon the principles of the Helsinki Final Act
of Non-Use of Force or Threat of Force, Territorial Integrity, and
the Equal Rights and Self-Determination of Peoples."
He said that this was the first time the Co-Chairs had adopted
a written statement underscoring the need to observe the three
principles of international law. Nalbandian said Wednesday he hoped the
foreign ministers of the 56 OSCE member states would make a statement
confirming the principles.
An Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman, however, said last month
that the principle of self-determination does not call into question
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Karabakh. The region’s predominantly
Armenian population could only determine the extent of its self-rule
within Azerbaijan, he said.
Armenian officials insist, however, the Karabakh Armenians would be
able to vote for independence, reunification with Armenia or return
under Azerbaijani rule in the would-be referendum. "Self-determination
means self-determination and territorial integrity territorial
integrity," the Foreign Ministry in Yerevan said on November 7,
dismissing the Azerbaijani interpretation of the Minsk Group plan.
In his speech, Mammadyarov also accused Armenia of occupying almost
20 percent of his country’s internationally recognized territory,
displacing hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis and destroying
their cultural heritage. "We in Azerbaijan strongly believe that
withdrawal of Armenian troops in a fixed time framework from the
occupied territories of Azerbaijan will open a tremendous opportunity
for the region, providing different environment of predictability,
development and benefit for everyone and for the entire region. This
is the core of the issue," he said.
Speaking at the OSCE forum later in the day, Nalbandian accused
Mammadyarov of seeking to "distort" the essence of the Karabakh
conflict and international efforts to resolve it. That, he said,
is hampering further progress in the peace process.
Still, both two ministers noted that the parties have moved closer to
hammering out a compromise peace accord. "I should admit that there
are positive dynamics in the latest talks and both sides together
with the Minsk Group Co-chairs agreed to intensify negotiations,"
said Mammadyarov.