AzerNews Weekly, Azerbaijan
Dec 28 2009

Armenia threatens to recognize rebel region

28-12-2009 21:54:54

Armenia has threatened to recognize the so-called `independence’ of
the self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic, in a bid to
blackmail Azerbaijan into making concessions in the ongoing talks on
settling the two countries’ long-standing conflict.
Parliament Vice-Speaker Samvel Nikonyan told Russia’s slon.ru website
that Yerevan has not recognized the rebel region so far `only due to
its respect for the international community’s stance and the
negotiating process.’ `But for us, for any Armenian, there is no
alternative to Upper Garabagh’s independence and there can’t be one,’
Nikonyan claimed.
The vice-speaker said further that if Armenia recognizes the
self-proclaimed republic, the work of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering
the conflict settlement will become unnecessary.
`In doing so, we will have terminated the internationally-brokered
negotiating process. It is for this reason that we are not raising the
issue of recognizing Garabagh. But, I repeat, there is no alternative
to this. If we see that there are no advances in the conflict
settlement process and Upper Garabagh’s independence is under a
threat, Armenia will recognize its independence,’ Nikonyan maintained.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia emerged in the late 1980s,
during the last few years of the USSR, due to Armenia’s territorial
claims. Though the separatist regime in Upper Garabagh declared
so-called independence in 1991, this `independence’ has not been
recognized by the world community. A lengthy war ended with the
signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Upper
Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of
international law.*