President Sargsyan defies Aliyev on Nagorno Karabakh settlement
Any solution to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict without the exercise of Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-determination is simply impossible, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan stated today, reminding of the position of the international community on the conflict as reflected in the statements by the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries.
Sargsyan, who is attending the Eastern Partnership Summit in Brussels, said: “As much as the Azerbaijani side may try to distort and misinterpret the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its peaceful settlement, the conflict has to be settled on the basis of three principles of international law: non-use of force or threat of force, territorial integrity and the peoples’ right to self-determination as proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, which is the only structure vested with an international mandate.”
Armenian president pointed that each conflict is unique in its nature, essence and background, and attempts to apply similar approaches to different conflicts are wrong.
The president next defied also Azerbaijani leader’s remarks on the UN resolutions concerning the conflict, calling them as “ill-grounded accusations.”
“The UN has never adopted a resolution regarding the settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The four resolutions adopted by the UN in 1993 were about the ceasing of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan has ignored so far. And now, as 25 years have passed, in my opinion, it is irrelevant to say that Armenia has not fulfilled its commitments. I strongly hope that resolution of the existing issues in the Eastern Partnership region will let us have a more peaceful and prosperous Europe,” said Sargsyan.