“Madrid Principles must be rejected”
Everyone has expectations before the presidents' meeting and then it turns out that the expectations were unsubstantiated. We didn't have any expectations from the meeting in Kazan," politologist, press speaker for "Heritage" Party Hovsep Khurshudyan told "A1+" today.
If there was confidence that no document would be signed, why did Zaruhi Postanjyan make a call in Strasbourg? In response, Hovsep Khurshudyan said:
"There is always fear because we know the Armenian authorities' working style. They sign documents overnight and then present them to the society without any broad public discourse. We still have doubts that the Madrid Principles that envisage the dislocation of Armenian forces from the liberated territories, which may provoke a war, is a phenomenon that causes a threat to Armenia's and Artsakh's security."
What should Armenia's concession be?
"We must see what Azerbaijan is ready to concede, but Azerbaijan is simply not ready for concessions. It says Armenia must be subject to capitulation, liberate the territories and that there is no way for Artsakh to be independent. This nonsensical approach in the negotiations goes to show that Azerbaijan is not ready for a resolution. If it isn't ready, let's consider the issue solved," says Hovsep Khurshudyan, adding that the Republic of Artsakh is independent regardless of international recognition and that any nation has the right to become self-determined in line with the Helsinki principles and in accordance with international norms."
According to Khurshudyan, the societies of neither Armenia nor Azerbaijan are ready for concessions that are recorded in the Madrid Principles, and this means that both sides should reject those principles and start from a new point. The Republic of Artsakh should be recognized and it should be recognized by Armenia so that the mediators realize that there can be no other way.
Touching upon Serzh Sargsyan's statement in the PACE that Armenia hasn't recognized the NKR's independence because it recognizes Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, Hovsep Khurshudyan noted:
"It is painful and it is the continuation of the policy that all three Armenian presidents have adopted, but we condemn that policy. Armenia truly made a huge mistake by recognizing Azerbaijan's territorial integrity within the framework of the OSCE and the moment it signed the CIS agreement. International law doesn't require recognition of territorial integrity with the current borders. Armenia could recognize Azerbaijan's territorial integrity without Artsakh and Artsakh's territorial integrity with today's borders."
