There can be no negotiation process unless Artsakh is involved in talks, Executive Director of the Foundation Against the Violation of Law (FAVL), Armenia’s first Human Rights Defender Larisa Alaverdyan told a press conference today. She said the process under the aegis of the Minsk Group is living a crisis.
“Whatever we call the process under way within the framework of the Minsk Group, it is in crisis. The lack of agreement on meetings and the cautious statements of the Co-Chairs come to prove this,” she said.
Larisa Alaverdyan said the steps of the Armenian side are unclear to her. “The OSCE has other institutes beside the Minsk Group – the OSCE Fact-Finding Mission, for example.” She noted that Azerbaijan applies to the mission on every occasion, while we never do.
Director of the Modus Vivendi Analytical Center, political scientist Ara Papyan noted that “the document on the table today is not new. It comes from the 1994 agreement.”
He said “the last document that has been spoken about is that of Kazan” and added that the solution of the issue in that format is unacceptable.
Speaking about the steps of the Armenian side, Ara Papyan stressed the need to change the “ground and essence” of the negotiation process. “The principle of territories against nothing should be cancelled,” he said.
According to the political scientist, there are both positive and negative factors in the geopolitical developments. “The positive factor is that there are opportunities Armenia should use to develop relations with the West, thus creating an alternative,” he said.
Larisa Alaverdyan does not exclude the perspective of a large-scale war. “The possibility is high, considering the lack of cusses in diplomacy. That means that Azerbaijan’s failed nasty attack in April was a signal to our authorities to reinforce the armed forces,” she said.
Alaverdyan said she has no expectants form the Minsk Group, but added that she’s not against meetings. “Meetings at least mean there should be no war.”
Ara Papyan does not expect from a possible Paris meeting, either.