Dominant parliamentary faction declines proposal to put condemnation of Shushi Declaration on agenda

ARM INFO
March 1 2022
Naira Badalian

ArmInfo.The dominant parliamentary faction Civil Contract has declined a draft statement condemning the so-called Shushi  Declaration by the Azerbaijani and Turkish  Parliaments.

On February 23, the dominant parliamentary faction thwarted the  opposition's attempt to convene a special meeting of Armenia's  Parliament to discuss the issue by not securing a quorum.  Armenia's  Parliament was to hold a special meeting on the initiative  of the  Armenia opposition faction, on Wednesday, to discuss the  Shushi  Declaration. The opposition faction proposed that the RA  National  Assembly issue a statement condemning the ratification of  the Shushi   Declaration and "expressing deep concern over the  ratification by  the  Azerbaijani and Turkish Parliaments of the  declaration the  Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents signed in the  Azerbaijan-occupied   Shushi on June 15, 2021." Back on June 15 and  17, 2021, Armenia's  foreign office issued relevant statements.  

According to Mr Arsenyan, the statements contained all the key points   incorporated in the opposition-proposed draft. He believes the  Parliament's position must be identical to that of the foreign   office.  In their 2021-2026 programme of action Armenia's authorities   declared a policy of long-lasting peace and stability and are   implementing their foreign policy in line with the programme, with a   view of causing no harm to the declared policy.  The  opposition-proposed document reads that despite the assurances   that  the Shushi Declaration is not aimed at a third party, its   content  is obviously against the Armenian people.  "It sets the   strategic  goals of the two nations that carried out a 44-day   aggression  against the Republic of Artsakh, against Artsakh's  self-determination, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the    Republic of Armenia, and the rights of the Armenian people, which    survived a genocide and was scattered throughout the world," Mr    Tevanyan said. 

The wordings concerning the "Zangezur corridor" contained in the   declaration are evidence that Turkey and Azerbaijan are reaching    public agreements on implementation of joint expansionist programmes.   The authors of the statement also condemn the Azerbaijani-Turkish   agreement on struggling against international recognition of the    Armenian Genocide by distorting the essence of the problem and    turning it into a subject of historical research. 

"The Shushi Declaration is not based on the UN Charter or the    OSCE-approved security principles.  Rather, it is based on the  'ethnic   security' approach, which is in conflict with the  fundamental international legal norms. According to the Vienna  Convention on the   Law of Treaties of 1969, all the international  treaties that are in   conflict with the imperative international  legal norms are not   legitimate. 

The provocative and destructive Shushi Declaration is   unacceptable  to the Republic of Armenia. It is a serious challenge to  regional  and global security, which does not contribute to our   region's  peaceful development, is in conflict with normalization of    Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and arouses serious    doubts about official Ankara's real intentions," the draft statement    reads.