On December 10, 1991 a referendum cemented Artsakh's independence
The existence of Artsakh is greatly important factor in maintaining the regional—even global—geopolitical balance, Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan said in a statement published on social media.
Babayan explained that if Artsakh were not to exist the geopolitical landscape would fundamentally change in the South Caucasus, and then also in adjacent regions, after which maintaining the geopolitical balance with traditional means would become practically impossible.
“This would lead to an open, hard and direct collision of the centers of power. And what can happen when maintaining geopolitical balance with traditional means is impossible, and when global and regional powers would overtly oppose each other? I think the answer is very clear: the world could even appear on the verge of nuclear war,” Babayan warned.
Meanwhile, Artsakh State Minister Artak Beglaryan called on the international community to take preventative measures since President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan continues to threaten use of force against the population of Artsakh.
In response to remarks made by Aliyev, who said that Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist and the conflict ended when Azerbaijani forces aggressively attacked Artsakh in 2020, Beglaryan said the entire world has acknowledged the existence of Artsakh and the fact that the conflict has not been resolved.
Beglaryan wrote on his Telegram channel that the process and results of delimitation and demarcation of borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan should not affect the current and future status of the Republic of Artsakh, Armenpress reported.
“The Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict has not been settled, which is acknowledged by the entire world, regardless of certain differences in interests and formulations. If Azerbaijan wants to close the page of the conflict, clarify the status of Artsakh, it can carry out a process of delimitation and demarcation with the Artsakh Republic, at the same time returning our occupied territories and recognizing our independence,” Beglaryan wrote.
He explained that the main principle of the conflict settlement is the complete realization and recognition of the right of peoples to self-determination. Beglaryan added that non use of force or the threat to use force is another important international law, which has been grossly violated by Azerbaijan and continues to be violated.
“Furthermore, today Aliyev again threatened use of force, which is a clear signal to the international community to take preventive and punitive measures. Encouraging and ignoring deviant behavior is gradually leading to international catastrophes, becoming part of international practice and customary law,” Beglaryan wrote.