V. Oskanyan: “Discrepancies in Sargsyan’s speech”
Former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan today announced that there were some incorrect phrases in Serzh Sargsyan's speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, especially during the question-and-answer session.
According to Oskanyan, the authorities must do something to deny three of them.
"First, saying that Armenia hasn't recognized Nagorno-Karabakh's independence to this day because it accepts the principle of territorial integrity is clearly an incorrect presentation of Armenia's position of the past twenty years, including Serzh Sargsyan's position for the past three years.
For two decades, Armenia has not recognized Nagorno-Karabakh's independence in order to determine the outcome of the negotiations. If Azerbaijan steps out of the negotiations and tries to solve the issue by force, Armenia will recognize Nagorno-Karabakh's independence. This has been the policy of all three Armenian regimes. The president needs to specify that, especially since his speech didn't include any phrase that would reflect Armenia's official position.
Secondly, the principles of no use of force, territorial integrity and self-determination of nations that the president presented as the Madrid Principles are actually the principles stated in the Helsinki Final Act and serve as a guideline for any conflict, including the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Over the years, there have been three special principles for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution and they have been recognized as the Madrid Principles. As far as I know, even if the Madrid document has undergone changes, the principles have remained unchanged, and the right of the Nagorno-Karabakh people's right to self-determination is the first of the Madrid Principles.
And finally, after winning two wars, Armenians stay true to the process of negotiations because they believe that there is no military solution to this conflict, not because Azerbaijan has certain advantages over Armenia.
Armenians are pursuing a peaceful resolution based on firm and long-lasting principles. Armenia's position before the meeting in Kazan must be clearly specified. This struggle has been and remains the Nagorno-Karabakh people's struggle for self-determination," said Vardan Oskanyan.
