"WHAT WAS NOT DEFINED IN SOCHI, WAS DEFIMNED IN STEPANAKERT"

Azat Artsakh Newspaper NKR
January 29, 2010

On Monday in Sochi by mediation of the Russian president Dmitry
Medvedev the first negotiations in the new year between the presidents
of Armenia and Azerbaijan Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliev have passed.

Predictably, a break in the course of the Karabakh settlement has
not occurred. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov named the
main sum of negotiations the consent of the parties, drawing up
in written form their formulations of disputable principles of the
conflict settlement. He has noted that the parties "find the general
understanding of a preamble of the document" in which principles
of the solution of a problem contain, but in conformity with it he
has refused to open document details, as it remains a subject of
negotiations. General, diplomatically veiled, deprived of a reality
formulations of the minister testify, perhaps, that for today the
mutually acceptable decision of the conflict is not present. As
consequence, there is no also a progress in the problem solution.

About futility of the Sochi summit shows also the fact that its
participants have not acted with the joint statement in which the
certain principles defining prospects of development of negotiating
process would be declared. Though it is necessary to confess,
that similar declarations through Azerbaijan’s fault are also not
of enough importance. So, on November 2008 following the results
of the meeting in Moscow the presidents Medvedev, Sargsyan and
Aliev have signed the general, so-called Meindorf Declaration,
which analysts named it breaking document. That, however, has not
prevented the Azerbaijan leader a month later to refuse from it,
again having started talking about the possible power solution of the
conflict and having confirmed its reputation as unreliable partner in
negotiations. Meanwhile indistinct comments on Sochi’s summit have been
diluted by an information being striking by claim of concreteness. In
press a message has filtered in which with the reference on "the
high-ranking source close to negotiating process", was marked that in
a preamble mentioned by Lavrov, priority of the rights of the nations
to self-determination is fixed, as well as necessity of participation
of the NKR at the next stage of negotiations. Let’s notice, that
information leaks in diplomacy practice- not a new thing, and they
pursue the definite purposes connected with beforehand touching upon
of public opinion on this or that pressing question. For whom it was
necessary to throw the above-mentioned message into information field,
it’s difficult say, as it’s difficult to confirm its reliability.

However, here the following circumstance attracts attention – service
of the given material as the certain intriguing sensation shrouded in
mystery of confidentiality. But essentially there is nothing new and
especially sensational in the given message – an ordinary open secret.

And that is why. The matter is that both these positions – priority
of the rights of the nations to self-determination and necessity of
participation of the NKR in negotiations, already for a long time
are basic components of the position of the Karabakh party.

And Nagorno-Karabakh never did secret of this. As well as from that,
that it will not deviate from its elected way and will achieve
the international legal recognition of the DE FACTO independence –
irrespective of that it participates in negotiating process or not.

Yes, the NKR insisted and continues to insist on obligatory returning
for a negotiating table, as it sees illogicalness and even absurdity
in that without its direct participation the question of its future
is discussed. But it demands returning in process not to discuss own
political status, especially within Azerbaijan, which Baku achieves.

Independence of the NKR – not a subject of negotiations, and especially
– the auctions, but here Karabakh does not refuse from discussion of
other questions, concerning relations with Azerbaijan.

Now neither intermediaries, nor Armenia and Azerbaijan have sounded
the results of the Sochi’s negotiations. The meeting of the three
presidents only has once again confirmed presence of serious
disagreements in positions of negotiating parties which will not
be resolved soon yet. Apparently, in Sochi it was not possible to
define a vector of development of process of settlement. But that
was not possible in Sochi, was already possible in Stepanakert. As
settlement process can be any, but only not contradicting interests of
Nagorno-Karabakh. This thesis was sounded time and again by official
Stepanakert which position, unlike other countries, completely
coincides with people’s will in the given question. Stepanakert
does not want and will not wait for definition of the destiny by the
third party no matter where – in Moscow, Paris or Sochi. Stepanakert
has already defined for a long time priorities and prospects of
own political development. And it adheres to them. Irrespective of
negotiating processes.

Leonid Martirosyan