SETTLEMENT MUST BE BASED ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEOPLE’S WILL – SARGSYAN

Interfax
Feb 10 2010
Russia

Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are not planning military operations
against Azerbaijan, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at Chatham
House in London on Wednesday.

"Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have never started and will never start
a war. We hate war with all our hearts," the Armenian presidential
press service quoted Sargsyan as saying.

"But we are aware that we must be prepared for war when others want
to fight. We cannot turn a deaf ear to the bellicose threats coming
from the neighboring country, or to the Azeri president’s New Year
greetings reminiscent of a commander-in chief’s statements in a time
of war," Sargsyan said.

War rhetoric has been increasing in the region, he said.

"Armenia mostly disregards the threats. But this is not the way to
settle the problem. Threats are a manifestation of violence, and
violence breeds violence," he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is an accomplished state with its state structures,
armed forces and citizens, Sargsyan said.

"The times of colonization have passed. The Karabakh conflict must
be settled on the basis of human rights and the will of the people of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Only then will the settlement be lasting, feasible
and peaceful," he said

"A forced return to Azerbaijan leading to ethnic purges" is an
alternative to that, he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh located inside the territory of Azerbaijan, but the
population is mainly ethnic Armenian. It unilaterally declared itself
as an independent republic in 1991.