Armenia expects unbiased approach
Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan yesterday answered the questions of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs referring to the Karabakh conflict settlement, Armenian-Turkish relations and Armenia-EU partnership.
Earlier, the RA NA Speaker gave a speech in the Committee's special sitting.
"The Karabakh conflict has many delicate sides and Armenia expects an unbiased and balanced approach in all documents referring to conflict.
In this respect, I sent a letter to the president of the European Parliament in connection with the resolution on "EU Strategy for the South Caucasus" adopted on May 10, 2010.
The resolution includes incorrect wording on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, as the author was unaware of the nuances of the conflict. Moreover, he had never visited the region and consulted with mediators - the OSCE Minsk group co-chair countries, in particular with France, a member of the European Union.
The right of Nagorno Karabakh people to self-determination cannot be opposed to the principle of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, as Nagorno Karabakh has never been part of either Azerbaijan proclaiming independence in 1918 or current Azerbaijan being the latter's successor.
-In response to the legitimate wish of Karabakhi people to exercise their right to self-determination, Azerbaijan resorted to force and unleashed a large-scale war against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991-1994. The present situation in the conflict zone is the consequence of that war.
-Since the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is not recognized internationally, Armenia represents and protects NKR interests but Armenia cannot replace Karabakh and cannot shoulder commitments instead of Karabakh. If Azerbaijan recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as a negotiating party, it will contribute to the productivity of the negotiation process.
Disregard of these facts may have a negative impact on the Karabakh conflict settlement. Azerbaijan's recent provocation on the contact-line, which left five Armenian soldiers killed, is not a mere accident.
I would like to note that the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament suggest interesting ideas on the mechanisms of strengthening relations between South Caucasus and European Union.
