Interview of REGNUM IA with the Acting Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Vassily Atajanian
REGNUM IA: Mr. Atajanian, despite the absolute equality of international principles, in case of Azerbaijan, different-level political figures often point out the principle of territorial integrity of a state, while the right of nations to self-determination, which Nagorno Karabakh has actually realized, is only noted among other fundamental principles and norms of international law. How does it correspond to the reality?
– I’d like to note at once that the independence of Nagorno Karabakh and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan lie in different legal fields. The NKR independence doesn’t violate Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity at all, first of all because Nagorno Karabakh has never been a constituent of the Azerbaijani state and just in the Soviet period this Armenian region, in spite of its population’s will, was forcedly passed to the Azerbaijani SSR.
The international-legal bases of the NKR formation are perfect. In full accordance with international law and the acting legislation of the USSR, two independent states– the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the Azerbaijani Republic – were formed in the territory of the former Azerbaijani SSR. Nagorno Karabakh declared firmly and resolutely its future and any other resolution than the one on its independence, adopted by its people at the 1991 referendum and endorsed by the Constitution in 2006, is unacceptable. We reject any settlement model, which can challenge the historical choice of our people. NKR President Bako Sahakian has repeatedly emphasized at different-level meetings that the independence of Artsakh and its people’s security cannot be a subject of a bargain
It should be also noted that unlike Azerbaijan, where a medieval sultanate and a clannish practice of passing the power from father to son are reigning, the NKR, since its formation, has assumed the course of building a democratic state ensuring all the rights and freedoms for its citizens. The NKR leadership intends to continue the policy of comprehensive development of the Republic and its democratic institutes and has repeatedly expressed its readiness for mutually beneficial cooperation with all the interested states. It is praising that with the lapse of time the international community, including the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, more and more inclines to the recognition of the fact of the NKR independent existence. The Artsakh people have proven their right to a sovereign state, which has demonstrated its ability to assume responsibility and to fulfill international commitments, though unilaterally. The international recognition of the NKR will endorse the existing realities.
REGNUM IA: However, official Baku, still insisting on “20% of occupied territories” and “one million of refugees”, makes no difference between proper Nagorno Karabakh and the “occupied” territories. How does this approach impact the negotiation process?
– This vicious practice of Baku has actually driven the negotiation process to a deadlock. The Azerbaijani party must bring itself to the ability to refuse of the technologies and stereotypes distorting the essence of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, as it is extremely unacceptable and dangerous to use the situation for propaganda ends. The talks on the «return» of Nagorno Karabakh into the structure of Azerbaijan are absurd. A self-respecting political figure or political scientist cannot suppose that while actually all the post-Soviet states incline to democratic Europe, Nagorno Karabakh must incline to Azerbaijan, which rejects all the fair realities, roughly violates the rights of the national minorities and generally the elementary human rights in its own state, threatening in addition the NKR with its physical extermination. Baku introduces the issue of the territories under the NKR control to the international community as the result of Armenian aggression, while it is the direct consequence of just the Azerbaijani aggression against the national-state formation, which stated its right to freedom. Among the well-known propaganda clichés of the Azerbaijani authorities are “20% of occupied territories” and “one million of refugees”. In fact, the reality is as follows: the total area of the territories under the control of the NKR Defense Army makes 7059 sq km, the total area of the Azerbaijani Republic making 81100 sq km as of 1991. The simple calculation testifies that the area of the 7 regions adjoining the NKR makes only 8,7% of the noted territory. And on the contrary, the Azerbaijani troops occupied about 1041 sq km of the NKR territory – the Shahumian region (600 sq km), parts of the Martakert and Martuni regions, and the Getashen sub-region. This makes about 19% of the NKR territory. It should be also considered that the 1991-1994 war imposed by Azerbaijan created a new situation, changing, in particular, the borders between the states. As of the number of Azerbaijani refugees, the PACE resolution of April 2006 includes the true data of the UN High Commissariat on Refugees (UNHCR), according to which the total number of refugees and displaced persons in Azerbaijan makes about 590.000 people, or about 8% of the AR official population size. By the way, the refugees and displaced persons in the NKR make 33%, or 61.000 people. So, the statement on “one million of refugees in Azerbaijan” is a myth of the Azerbaijani propaganda similar to the statement on “20% of occupied Azerbaijani territories”.
REGNUM IA: Recently, different-level active discussions on the return of the Azerbaijani refugees to Nagorno Karabakh have taken place…
– The Azerbaijani party insists on the return of refugees, without noting the similar return of about 500.000 Armenian refugees who forcedly left Azerbaijan, due to the pursuit by the state’s authorities and the ethnic cleansing in 1988-1990s, as well as the wide-scale war unleashed against the NKR. Parity and a complex approach to the issue are needed here. Today’s situation is surely unacceptable for the return of refugees; this is possible only after the achievement of a political settlement of the conflict, solution of the issue of the NKR status and a complex of social issues. As of the issue of financial and moral reimbursement, the Azerbaijani party, as an aggressor, bears the responsibility for the reimbursement to all the refugees, regardless of their nationality.
REGNUM IA: How do you see the final solution of the issue of state borders between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan?
– Usually, factual borders are established as a demarcation line after military activities. Today’s borders of the NKR, as I have already noted, are the result of Nagorno Karabakh’s rebuffing the Azerbaijani aggression. In the historical aspect, the post-war territory of Nagorno Karabakh is a part of ancient Artsakh. In the defense-strategic context, the territories, which we took under our own control during the war imposed on us, make a security belt.
In the legal context, the territories and borders of Nagorno Karabakh have never been determined, taking into account the historical, national, and cultural-religious aspects. During the Soviet period, unfortunately, they were arbitrarily fixed by Soviet Azerbaijan, in the lesser territory of Artsakh, so that the autonomous district became an enclave within Azerbaijan. There is no return to the past either in the issue of status or in the issue of borders. The NKR borders should ensure the Republic’s security in all the fields.
REGNUM IA: Today, much is spoken of the necessity of confidence-building measures between the parties to the conflict. What is meant by this?
– For the entire conflict period, the Armenian parties have offered corresponding initiatives on confidence-building measures between the conflicting parties, exclusion of the cease-fire violation, cease of the «sniper war», establishment of direct contacts between the parties, refusal of hostile publications in the mass media, and others.
We are still ready for cooperation for preventing fires in the forests and agricultural areas in the borderline zone, jointly using the water resources, ensuring mutual guarantees on the use of the air space, protecting the historical-architectural monuments, realizing joint projects in the meteorology and seismology spheres, and others. The contacts in the exchange of prisoners and remains and the search of missing persons should be intensified. Unfortunately, our initiatives are not supported by the neighboring state. Official Baku politicizes the humanitarian issues.
REGNUM IA: The negotiation process makes no progress. What is the main reason of this?
– Official Baku has always skillfully used the negotiation process for its selfish ends, misleading the international organizations and distracting them from the essence of the issue. Unfortunately, Azerbaijan participates in the settlement process for conducting a wide-scale propaganda war against Armenia and Artsakh and not for searching a mutually acceptable mechanism for the conflict settlement. This war expands from year to year, gaining new sophisticated methods of falsifications, provocations, and revanchist threats.
Azerbaijan replaces the conflict settlement process with attempts to transfer the issue to the auspice of the UN, Council of Europe, European Parliament, and other international organizations. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani party’s requirement for the international organizations, states, and political figures to recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan grows into a political farce and its declaration of the citizens visiting the NKR «persona non grata» – into a comedy. The position of Azerbaijan is fully deprived of even hints of readiness for any compromise or concessions. This reconfirms the fact that official Baku doesn’t want to resolve the Karabakh issue, trying to shift the blame for the failure onto Armenia.
REGNUM IA: What do you think can lead the negotiation process out of the current situation?
– It is restoration of the full-fledged format of the negotiations, with the NKR direct and equal participation. We consider direct negotiations between the NKR and Azerbaijan the most optimal format for achieving a solution to the Karabakh conflict, especially that the Azerbaijani leadership had direct contacts with the NKR till 1997, which is testified by numerous documents signed by the NKR and Azerbaijani officials
Karabakh was the target of the war imposed by Azerbaijan, the basic party to the conflict and, consequently, must be a party to the negotiations. The NK status as an equal party to the conflict is fixed in the Bishkek Protocol of 1994 on the cease-fire, which was signed by three parties – Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, at the CSCE Budapest Summit in 1994, as well as in the Prague Summary of the Chairman-in-Office at the first meeting of the OSCE Leading Council on March 31, 1995. According to these documents, an efficient mechanism of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement must be full-format negotiations, with the participation of Nagorno Karabakh. The current format of the negotiations on the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement, without Nagorno Karabakh’s participation, violates the OSCE official resolutions on three parties to the conflict and cannot be a success.
The importance of the full-fledged participation of the Karabakh party is also realized by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen who emphasize the necessity of involving the NKR representatives in the negotiation process for achieving the final solution to the conflict. The leadership of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic considers it necessary to achieve the soonest settlement of the issue and to establish cooperation between the conflicting parties. All the states of the region must be interested in the establishment of final peace and stability in the South Caucasus, which will allow using the entire potential of regional cooperation.
Source: NKR MFA