Political analyst: During the discussion between the heads of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the statements of the Prime Minister were not very convincing

Arminfo, Armenia
Feb 17 2020

ArmInfo. During the discussion in Munich between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the statements of the Prime Minister were not very convincing. Political  analyst Alexander Minasyan stated this at a press conference on  February 17.

He noted that such discussions should be well prepared, as it is very  different from the closed-door meeting when it is not known what was  being discussed. Here, in fact, a press conference at which the heads  of two states present their arguments and viewpoints on a very  important issue for the countries.

According to the political analyst, Pashinyan's arguments about  Tigran the Great and the revolution in the country are very weak, the  most interesting is that even the moderator after these statements by  the prime minister was puzzled. "In fact, this kind of argument is  not to the liking of countries like the USA and Russia, the EU will  not like it either, since during the above period of time many states  didn't exist either, which, in turn, could wounded their self-esteem.  And since Pashinyan decided to bring these arguments, they could be  presented more tactfully so as not to cause a negative reaction,  "Minasyan emphasized, noting that it did not make sense to go so deep  into history. The expert noted that the legal side of this issue was  no less important than the historical one. Indeed, in the legal  aspect in the 20th century, Karabakh's independence from Azerbaijan  was confirmed three times, in particular, in 1918, in 1920 and in  1991.

 "The fact that the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are visiting  Karabakh suggests that they recognize Artsakh as a party to the  conflict. In this situation, Karabakh should not wait for the demands  of Baku, but must put forward its own conditions. And it would be  right for Azerbaijan to apologize to Armenians for the massacre of  the Armenian population in Azerbaijan and Karabakh, "Minasyan noted.  As for the tragedy in Khojaly, the expert noted that according to the  position of the Armenian side, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan bears  all responsibility for what happened, since it was the  representatives of this organization that carried out the massacre of  the civilian population.

It should be noted that on February 15, during a security conference  in Munich, a discussion took place between Prime Minister of Armenia  Nikol Pashinyan and  President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. Aliyev, in  particular, noted that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan and the  settlement of the conflict is possible only if it is returned to the  AR. He also added that Artsakh's belonging to Azerbaijan is  recognized by the international community, and it is an integral part  of Azerbaijan. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, reacting to these  attacks of Aliyev, advised the latter not to go so deep into history,  recalling that not only before our era, but also in the later period,  the Azerbaijani people in the Caucasus did not exist in principle.  

"If President Aliyev wants to delve deeper into history, then I can  remind him that during the time of the Armenian king Tigran the  Great, there was no country called Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus.   Armenians, Georgians, but not Azerbaijanis lived here historically,"  he added. The prime minister said:  "Karabakh was never part of  independent Azerbaijan. It was included in Azerbaijan only during the  existence of the Soviet Union. Therefore, when we talk about the  territorial integrity of the state, we must first decide which state  is in question," he said , recalling that Artsakh withdrew from the  Azerbaijan SSR and the Soviet Union in the same way as the Azerbaijan  SSR from the USSR. "