KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS BENEFICIAL FOR NEITHER ARMENIA NOR AZERBAIJAN
Tert.am
16:46 ~U 02.12.09
The process of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is beneficial
for neither Armenia nor the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (NKH), said
former NKH foreign minister Arman Melikyan at a press conference today.
The situation today, in his words, shows that "we are obliged to agree
with the assertion that Armenia is an aggressor state." Melikyan
explained his comment by saying that Azerbaijan is able to put
Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s demands to one side; particularly
those demands that relate to protecting the interests of Azerbaijani
refugees, without taking into account Armenian refugees.
Another participant in today’s press conference, governing Republican
Party of Armenia (RPA) representative Gagik Melikyan didn’t agree
with his opponent, stating that Armenia is considered an aggressor
not by the entire world, but only by Azerbaijan. "Armenia, all in
all, has only done its duty with respect to Nagorno-Karabakh; in the
sense that in a binding war it had to protect Karabakh’s interests,
and that’s what it did."
The RPA representative also noted that the issue of both Armenian
and Azerbaijani refugees has always been a part of the negotiations.
In response, Arman Melikyan noted that the issue of Armenian refugees
has begun to be raised only recently. He also blamed RA Minister of
Foreign Affairs that, when speaking about ethnic cleansing, he refers
not to "ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Azerbaijan, but rather,
to ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh."