Where does the danger actually lie?
Armenia's ex-Defense Minister Vahan Shirkhanyan says the involvement of the Azerbaijan resolution in the UN General Assembly's agenda is not as dangerous as the bargain over the document which ended with OSCE Minsk Group's decision to conduct a field assessment mission in the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.
Shirkhanyan finds the OSCE MG's statement dangerous in the sense that instead of visiting Shahumyan region [occupied by Azerbaijan] and other Armenian settlements destroyed by Azerbaijanis, the mission confines to mentioning the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic which has declared itself as an independent country by constitution. Therein, Shirkhanyan supports the stance of the Armenians National Congress and urges NKR authorities to suspend the pending monitoring in Karabach and adjacent territories unless the mediators monitor the territory of Azerbaijan.
At the same time, Armenia's ex DM says the ANC statement had an important drawback since there was no mention about Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan.
"The UN, OSCE, Armenian authorities and even opposition neglect the existence of 400 000 refugees when the issue of refugees is one of the major cards for Azerbaijan. Why doesn't Armenia make use of this card?"
Mr. Shirkhanyan suggests his version for the Karabakh conflict settlement which derives from the interests of Armenia.
"First, we must preserve Karabkah's "status quo." Any violation of the "status quo" will lead to a new war. The international community should be informed of the genuine essence of the Karabakh war which was based on racial issues and punish the criminals. Second, we must boost the economy of Armenia and NKR and restore public confidence in the Armenian authorities. Our efforts will yield no results if the public is not unanimous in the Karabakh issue. This unity will help Armenia further struggle for the recognition of Armenian Genocide worldwide.
Provided that Turkey recognizes the genocide, it will stop supporting Azerbaijan. Only after Turkey's recognition, Armenia will recognize NKR independence and call for a new format of talks - NKR and Azerbaijan. The UN has always viewed Azerbaijan and Karabakh's Armenian forces as conflicting sides. There is no mention about Armenia in the UN resolutions.
Vahan Shirkhanyan thinks that the Armenian leadership should take his advice otherwise they will lead the country to collapse.
