EVERYONE IS AGAINST NKR RECOGNITION

Lragir.am
04/12/09

Today, the NA commission on foreign relations discussed the
question on giving or not a positive answer to the draft on the NKR
recognition. 7 members of the Heritage party introduced the draft
before the parliament on October 14.

Safaryan noted that the main disagreements regard the fact whether
the current period is opportune to adopt the draft. In particular,
the RA government gave such kind of assessment to the draft on
19.11.2009 without any grounds only noting that the current period
is not opportune for the adoption of that draft.

Safaryan also recalled the statement of the RA president’s press
speaker that in case Azerbaijan retakes military steps against Artsakh,
Armenia will immediately recognize Karabakh.

The RP member of the commission Hamlet Harutunyan tried to learn
from Safaryan whether the adoption of the draft will not be a reason
for Azerbaijan to restart a war. Safaryan answered that regardless
Armenia has never included this question into its official agenda,
Azerbaijan is getting ready for a war and voices about it which means
that the recognition or its threat are not the reasons for Azerbaijan
to start a war. Safaryan reminded that when presenting the draft,
they appealed to many organizations and independent parliamentarians
to join but they were refused.

The head of the commission Armen Rustamyan from the ARF considered
inexpedient the discussion and the adoption of the draft saying
that the foreign ministry is to direct the NA in its action in this
connection. The deputy foreign minister Shavarsh Kocharyan noted
that the opinion of the government is known and presented three main
reasons, saying that all the other questions are to be decided by
the National Assembly. He recalled that in 1991-92, NKR appealed to
the Armenian government to recognize it, while several countries of
the Latin America were ready to make this step.

Dwelling on the period when Raffi Hovhannisyan was the RA foreign
minister and Shavarsh Kocharyan was opposition, Safaryan said that
Hovhannisyan was appealing to come to agreement on whether to recognize
Karabakh or not and to leave to the Armenian president the period of
making that step. Safaryan said that the first RA foreign minister
worked out official information on NKR in Armenia and English and
spread all over the world, because of which there appeared countries
ready to recognize Karabakh. But the Armenian president has never
made that step.

Safaryan noted that the Heritage make a similar proposal now. While,
now first of all the international recognition is important.