RPA vice-chair accusing Armenia`s authorities of lies

ARMINFO
Marianna Mkrtchyan

ArmInfo. Armen Ashotyan, Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), has accused Armenia's authorities of lying about Yerevan having allegedly  recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity back in 1991. 

Speaking live on Facebook and commenting on the statement by Armenian  FM Ararat Mirzoyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan that on  December 8, 1991, Yerevan and Baku signed the Agreement on  cooperation between independent states actually recognized each  other's territorial integrity, Mr Ashotyan stated the claim is false.  And it can easily proved if one looks through the documents on the  CIS formation. 

"Nikol Pashinyan's priority goal is clean himself of the blood and  sins of the Artsakh war, and he stops at nothing and keep on lying,"  stated Ashotyan. 

"The thesis that Armenia signed the Agreement on cooperation between  independent states thereby recognizing Azerbaijan's territorial  integrity is false," he said.  In this context, Mr Ashotyan stated  that the agreement was signed by Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, and  Armenia and Azerbaijan could not have signed it, as Minister Mirzoyan  claims.   

"In fact, official Yerevan signed the document in February 1992, and  official Baku in September 1993.  With reference to the point on  territorial integrity, it does not emphasize that Armenia and  Azerbaijan joined the CIS later by signing the so-called Alma Ata  Declaration," Mr Ashotyan said.  

Also, the Agreement contains the phrase "inalienable right to  self-determination." 

"My question: if Mr Mirzoyan erroneously refers to the agreement on  CIS and speaks of territorial integrity, why does not he refer to the  'inalienable right to self-determination', which is part of the  agreement? Moreover, beside the Agreement on CIS and Declaration on  accession to the CIS, there is a third fundamental document, the CIS  Charter, approved in 1993. And Article 3 of the Charter defines  'inalienable right of people to self-determination'," Mr Ashotyan  said. 

In this context, the RPA vice-chairman pointed out that the RA  Supreme Council ratified the Agreement on cooperation with  reservations.   

     In particularly, the RA Supreme Council, in the fourth paragraph of  the preamble to the Agreement replaced the phrase "inalienable right  to self-determination" with "inalienable right of people to self-  determination." So the wording of the first paragraph of Article 5  was as follows: "The High Contracting Parties recognize and respect  the right of nations to self-determination, each other's territorial  integrity and inviolability of borders." 

"Nikols are ignoring the principles of importance for Armenia and  disseminating pro-Azerbaijani ideas.  Active diplomatic processes  related to Nagorno-Karabakh are under way and are being concealed  from the people. We must stop it. Artsakh has always been and must  remain Armenian," Mr Ashotyan said. 

On March 15, Armenian FM Ararat Mirzoyan stated that Yerevan applied  to the OSCE MG co- chairmanship for negotiations over a peace  agreement with Azerbaijan. Speaking of the five points of  Azerbaijan's proposals, he stressed that any negotiations must be  held without preconditions. 

"As regards the proposals such, the two countries actually recognized  each other's territorial integrity and agrees that they have no  mutual territorial claims by signing the Agreement on cooperation  between independent states on December 8, 1991," Mr Mirzoyan said.