Is Serzh Sargsyan handing territories?
"Do you think Aghdam is our homeland too?" this was Serzh Sargsyan's response during an interview with "Ekho Moskvi" and is equivalent to an expression he made years ago.
Touching upon the process of resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Serzh Sargsyan said: "Nobody denies that there are territories, which used to be part of Azerbaijan and are currently under the control of the Karabakh army. They were some regions of Azerbaijan and they were under control in order to create a security zone."
In his interview with the Russian radio station, Mr. Sargsyan also said he accepts the Madrid Principles and that Azerbaijan is the reason why the conflict remains unresolved. "In 2007, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to resolve the conflict based on the Madrid Principles. However, Azerbaijan continues to give its own interpretations of the principles.
When we talk about the right to self-determination, they say yes, but only as part of Azerbaijan. Secondly, no application of force is only in the case when the state doesn't have seized territories. It feels like you have to remind the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994. Nobody has changed the provisions prescribed in that agreement. I would like to add that the territories under the control of the Karabakh army are simply the result of military operations that Karabakh didn't initiate."
Mentioning that war is the most undesirable road, Serzh Sargsyan said: "Frankly, we don't have an alternative choice because Armenia's desire for a peaceful resolution is not enough. If there is no other path, we will find ourselves in the situation we were in the early 1990s. We must protect our people in every way possible."
Sargsyan also deemed it necessary to remind the Azerbaijani authorities' declarations before the Artsakh war. "I remember very well the situation in 1988-1994 and I recall that everyone used to say that the Azerbaijani would be drinking tea in Stepanakert after a short, large-scale war. Thank God that didn't happen and it was because we were defending our land, our homes and our families."
Underlining that Azerbaijan itself asked for a ceasefire in 1994, Serzh Sargsyan said: "That came after the UN Security Council adopted four resolutions in 1993, demanding an immediate suspension of military operations. Azerbaijan didn't do that and now it says Armenia didn't fulfill the resolutions. However, at the time it was clear to the whole world and I think it is clear to all experts that it wasn't up to Armenia. Armenia was simply defending itself. Even if Karabakh is under the dominance of Azerbaijan for an hour, there will be no Armenians there at all."
