Former Foreign Minister of NKR, Arman Melikyan, believes that in the coming months we will still continue to be helpless and vulnerable as a society.
– In late 2013, during the visit to the region, the Minsk Group co-chairs stated that Nagorno-Karabakh’s return to the table of negotiation does not have an alternative. So far, all statements about it were more cautious or with reservations. Do you believe that the Karabakh conflict will enter into another active phase in 2014?
– For years, it is said about inevitable prospect of returning Nagorno-Karabakh to the table of negotiation, however, we have to be realistic and understand that this return does nowise mean that the conflict settlement process is no more problematic. It is ruled out that a situation could be created when the only decent way out for Artsakh would be the refusal of the common claim by intermediaries, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, to return to the table of negotiation.
– The issue of Nagorno-Karabakh was actively discussed under Armenia’s CU accession, in particular, with regard to building a customs station. The former Russian Ambassador to Armenia Vyacheslav Kovalenko made quite a remarkable statement. In response to the question of what Nagorno-Karabakh’s status will be if Armenia joins the Customs Union, whether it will also join the Union, or a checkpoint will be built between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ambassador said that it depends on Armenia. “The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not an easy task because of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia faces a problem, if Armenia recognizes NKR, then the NK membership issue will be discussed, if not, Karabakh’s membership to the Customs Union will be a provocative step by us towards the Azerbaijani side. Russia, here, has a radical position, which it follows in the process of years to maintain peace in the region”. To the observation whether we can conclude that in every case a checkpoint will be built at the borders between the two countries, Vyacheslav Kovalenko expressed his conviction that if the parties conduct a skillful discussion of the issue, they will come to a decision. How to perceive this position? Won’t the Nagorno-Karabakh recognition result in adventurism by Armenia?
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– Let’s start that it is still unclear when and under what conditions Armenia will become a full member of the CU. However, it should not be ruled out that Armenia would be imposed to build checkpoints on the border with Artsakh; it will depend on possible changes in the Russian-Azerbaijani relations.
Even when building checkpoints, I do not think that these checkpoints will operate in full. At the same time, their existence for Artsakh authorities will provide a fundamental reason to operate appropriate customs stations at the checkpoints on the border with Iran, as well. Russia’s regional and strategic interests demand Armenia to become a member of the CU, and the Western Community, in its turn, did everything for Russia’s desire to come true and to present it at least as a voluntary decision adopted by the authorities of Armenia, which is based on, among other factors, the worldview identity of Armenian and Russian elites. I say this to avoid of having the illusion that there was another option, but was not used due to intrigues of “internal enemy”.
Now about what was said by Kovalenko. Two or three times a year, “Heritage” is trying to make a law out of his advice at the National Assembly level, however, I think we need Armenia’s recognition process of Karabakh, if we want to have a diplomatic and political solution to the matter. In other words, with launching this process, we, in fact, will form a formal bilateral format operating parallel to the talks proceeding in the framework of the Minsk Group that will enable to transform new sound and required weight to the Artsakh political, humanitarian, economic, and territorial requirements.
– In your opinion, what challenges are expected to Armenia and NGR in this regional complex tangle? Do we still have the resources to confront the challenges, in general?
– The challenges are serious and they will be mostly related to external factors. The level of conflicting will grow in our region, and under Armenia’s internal weakness, this is a problematic process. The resource for confronting is available, and it’s not small, but it will be displayed only if different parts of our community, who, today, are hostile to each other, will find a path to regain mutual trust. Actually, it is business of the political elite, the authorities; however, presently, I do not see even the minimum ability and desire of the authorities to solve the problem. This means that for at least the next few months we, as a society, will be helpless and vulnerable.
Nelly GRIGORYAN
