RA President appeals to Azerbaijan to sign agreement not to use force

20.03.2010 11:45 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Nagorno Karabakh was not a part of independent
Azerbaijan, the Armenian President stated.

`It was the Caucasus Bureau of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
which attached Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan. History is well-known…
The international community does not have a different vision,’ Serzh
Sargsyan said in an interview with Euronews.

`Why did the international community acclaim the collapse of the
Soviet Union and not consider Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan
and Uzbekistan part and parcel of the Soviet Union? – still saying
Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan? It is not logical, is it?’
he said.

Asked what kind of compromises he is willing to make in order to
achieve a peaceful resolution of Karabakh conflict, President Sargsyan
said, `One cannot eliminate the consequences of this conflict without
addressing its causes. And when speaking about the causes… we talk
about recognizing the people of Nagorno Karabakh’s right of self
determination… the recognition of this right and its implementation.
The other problems will be solved rapidly after that. The Armenian
parts of this conflict, Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, are profoundly
interested in a swift resolution of this conflict. But a sustainable
resolution that would allow for peace and security in the region, as
opposed to giving Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh, which would spell the
end of its existence.’

`What does the international community propose to us? To solve this
conflict on the basis of three principles of international law:
firstly, self-determination; secondly, territorial integrity; and
thirdly, the non-use of force. I propose, through you, the media, to
appeal to Azerbaijan to sign an agreement not to use force. This would
instill trust in the Armenian people of Karabakh and Armenia. And
under these conditions of trust we would begin the negotiations for a
settlement. We Armenians know very well what Azerbaijan’s territorial
integrity means. We’ve talked about it openly several times. The
Azerbaijanis… can they say what the right of self-determination means
for the people of Nagorno Karabakh? When we issue joint declarations
about the right of self-determination, Azerbaijan is not talking about
the Armenian people’s right to self-determination but of the right of
the main player in the conflict… the people of Nagorno Karabakh,’ he
said.