DASHNAKTSUTYUN WILL NOT SUPPORT BILL ON NKR RECOGNITION
NewsArmenia.ru
KarabakhOpen
07-09-200 7 14:37:31
The ARF Dashnaktsutyun will not support the bill on the recognition
of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic by Armenia, introduced by the opposition
Heritage faction, the secretary of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s faction
Artashes Shahbazyan stated to News Armenia.
"The bill was unexpected at the National Assembly, and the faction
will not support it," Shahbazyan said.
The member of parliament thinks the issues of pan-Armenian importance
should be agreed on and discussed beforehand. "If the bill is not
passed, it might be misinterpreted," Shahbazyan said.
He says Armenia recognizes de facto the independence of
Nagorno-Karabakh, and this bill might turn out to be a "backward move".
"Nagorno-Karabakh must be recognized at the right moment to have this
process become a political factor," the member of parliament said.
The head of the opposition Heritage faction, the ex-foreign minister
of Armenia Raffi Hovannisian introduced the bill on the recognition
of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to the National
Assembly of Armenia on August 28.
The party think after adoption and enactment Armenia would de jure
recognize the de facto sovereign state set up in 1991 in Stepanakert
in accordance with the international and Soviet law. The justification
of this bill holds that NKR complies with the international law on
sovereign states.
The Karabakh conflict occurred in 1988 when Nagorno-Karabakh with a
sheer Armenian population stated to secede from Azerbaijan.
On December 10, 1991 with only a few days to go before the collapse
of the Soviet Union a referendum was held in Nagorno-Karabakh observed
by international observers, and 99.89 percent of the population voted
for independence from Azerbaijan.
For its part, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale war against
Nagorno-Karabakh. The military actions were stopped on May 12, 1994
after the signing of a cease-fire agreement which is observed till now.
In 1992 talks for a peace settlement were launched, mediated by the
OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.