If
the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh "gave mandate themselves" to Robert
Kocharian for negotiating round Karabakh why do they complain they have been
out of that process?"Aravot" published last week the 5th Progress
report of the commission of the CoE Ministers’ committee on monitoring the honouring
of commitments of Armenia under the chairmanship of the ambassador Roland Wegener.
The report informs that the initiative of Azerbaijan on involving the issue of
occupied territories in the agenda of the UN General Assembly was designed to
break off the negotiations according to Robert Kocharian. Then it is cited in
the report that "this initiative undermines the negotiating mandate he himself
received from the Nagorno-Kaarabakh authorities."We tried yesterday to
find out the information of having such a mandate from the official sources Nagorno-Karabakh.
Our efforts to contact with the Foreign Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh who was in
Yerevan yesterday, was in vain. We were informed from the NK representation in
Armenia that he was too busy. Instead we turned to the councilor of the NK president
Georgi Petrosian. "I’m not introduced to that report and don’t want to speak
about those issues as I’m not authorized interpreting that. The official answer
of that question you may get by official ways,"- Mr. Petrosian answered adding
that there is another councilor of the NK president in Armenia / He meant Manvel
Sargsian – N.M./ and you must turn to him for such questions. Mr. Sargsian said
himself that for answering such questions he must speak to the NK president first.Before
that Aram G. Sargsian who was the councilor of the RA President Robert Kocharian
on issues of foreign policy in 1998-1999 expressed his standpoint. – Saying
mandate sounds rather high. But R. Kocharian’s political direction on NK issue
satisfied the authorities of Karabakh in that time and there was no problem on
involving in the negotiations. The fact is that the Armenian side hasn’t raised
the question of NK participation in the negotiations.- Then why do the NK
authorities complain that they aren’t involved in the negotiations if they themselves
gave such right to R. Kocharian in time?- I think the development of the events
brought to the conclusion that everyone understands that the conflict won’t be
settled without their participation. Such announcements also were in 1998 but
speaking on NK participation was anachronistic, as the main negotiations hadn’t
begun yet. But when Kocharian -Aliev meetings began it was found out that those
were only meetings and didn’t became negotiations, and Nagorno-Karabakh lost the
opportunity of participating in that stage. The NK representatives must take part
in all processes and all instances in time but they didn’t. And now they understand
that they loose and want to take care of their fates themselves.- Atkinson’s
report was adopted as a resolution in PACE: the legislative and executive authorities
accused each other of failing their mission while it isn’t spoken about NK authorities
and diplomatic corps. Don’t you think Karabakah is guilty itself being out of
the negotiations and for such unfavourable resolutions?- The RA Ministry of
Foreign Affairs is guilty without any doubt and our delegation in PACE is also
partly guilty. But mainly the result of it is that the executive powers do not
realize their work. Those representatives that are produced in CoE. As regards
to the NK authorities they didn’t even have the opportunity of it.- But they
didn’t even try to have?- Certainly they must display a certain self-dependence
and correspondingly carry out propaganda. But as the subordination of the NK authorities
from the Armenian ones is too strong they avoid of making any self-dependent step.Naira
Mamikonian
