Armenia will recognize Nagorno-Karabakh if Azerbaijan starts war
06.05.2016,
10:20
President Serzh Sargsyan’s stance on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged - if Azerbaijan starts war, Armenia will recognize it as an independent state, the vice-speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov said on Thursday.
YEREVAN, May 6. /ARKA/. President Serzh Sargsyan’s stance on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged - if Azerbaijan starts war, Armenia will recognize it as an independent state, the vice-speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov said on Thursday.
"We have been advocating a peaceful resolution of the conflict; we do not want war, we did not start the war, but if Azerbaijan tries to resolve the Karabakh conflict by using military means, aggression and terror, if the Azerbaijani authorities try to unleash a new war against the freedom-loving people of Nagorno-Karabakh, then the Republic of Armenia will implement the steps of which the president spoke, up to recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,’ he said after a meeting of the executive committee of the governing Republican Party of Armenia.
Stressing that the purpose of the Armenia is the international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, Sharmazanov added that Armenia will take all the steps to make it a subject of international law, so that its citizens live in a free, independent and internationally recognized country.
"And we will achieve it, whether they want it or not in the East or the West, as the implementation of the peoples’ right to self-determination is one of the UN goals. Nobody can explain to the Karabakh people why East Timor in 1999 could gain independence from Indonesia through a referendum and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who seceded in 1991 from Azerbaijan by way of referendum, can not do the same," he said.
Sharmazanov also said that the bill on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh will be considered by a relating parliamentary committee after May 15th.
"The committee will either give a positive or negative opinion, and then the National Assembly will make the final decision. The committee will decide whether to send the bill to the plenary session or postpone it. But in any case, we should be very careful, and be guided by our national interests, and the key issue is the interests of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.
Also on Thursday Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement that as a predictable and reliable partner in case of recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh the president of the Republic of Armenia will notify about it Armenia’s partners, first of all the heads of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries.
The ministry said the government’s judgment on the bill authored by two opposition deputies of the National Assembly on recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic does not mean that the government supports it too. ‘Armenia has repeatedly stated clearly when it may recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," the document says.
"Only the understanding that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem can return the negotiating process back on track and help all find a fair and effective way for the full implementation of the right to self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh people," the statement said. -0-
"We have been advocating a peaceful resolution of the conflict; we do not want war, we did not start the war, but if Azerbaijan tries to resolve the Karabakh conflict by using military means, aggression and terror, if the Azerbaijani authorities try to unleash a new war against the freedom-loving people of Nagorno-Karabakh, then the Republic of Armenia will implement the steps of which the president spoke, up to recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,’ he said after a meeting of the executive committee of the governing Republican Party of Armenia.
Stressing that the purpose of the Armenia is the international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, Sharmazanov added that Armenia will take all the steps to make it a subject of international law, so that its citizens live in a free, independent and internationally recognized country.
"And we will achieve it, whether they want it or not in the East or the West, as the implementation of the peoples’ right to self-determination is one of the UN goals. Nobody can explain to the Karabakh people why East Timor in 1999 could gain independence from Indonesia through a referendum and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, who seceded in 1991 from Azerbaijan by way of referendum, can not do the same," he said.
Sharmazanov also said that the bill on the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh will be considered by a relating parliamentary committee after May 15th.
"The committee will either give a positive or negative opinion, and then the National Assembly will make the final decision. The committee will decide whether to send the bill to the plenary session or postpone it. But in any case, we should be very careful, and be guided by our national interests, and the key issue is the interests of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.
Also on Thursday Armenian foreign ministry said in a statement that as a predictable and reliable partner in case of recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh the president of the Republic of Armenia will notify about it Armenia’s partners, first of all the heads of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries.
The ministry said the government’s judgment on the bill authored by two opposition deputies of the National Assembly on recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic does not mean that the government supports it too. ‘Armenia has repeatedly stated clearly when it may recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," the document says.
"Only the understanding that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh problem can return the negotiating process back on track and help all find a fair and effective way for the full implementation of the right to self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh people," the statement said. -0-
