The claim of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) “Sargsyan v. Azerbaijan” stated that Azerbaijan has violated several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR has made a final decision on the case of Chiragov and Others v. Armenia meeting the claim of Azerbaijan. Chiragovs were demanding the court to receive a compensation of 7.9 million euros from Armenia for their lost properties. Sargsyans were demanding Azerbaijan a compensation of about 570 thousand euros. The court has postponed the verdict for 12 months, giving a chance for the parties to define the size of compensation mutually acceptable for both parties via negotiations. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan, addressing the speculations by Azerbaijan on the claim of Chiragov, mentioned that this personal decision cannot affect the Karabakh conflict settlement.
Aravot.am was curious to know from the Director of “Armenian Center for Political and International Relations”, Aghasi Yenokyan, whether it is necessary to politicize the ECHR decisions, or why the ECHR decided to make a decision on this claim at this very period of time when these claims were submitted to the ECHR years ago. Mr. Yenokyan replied, “There is no need to politicize the ECHR decisions, they are more legal.” In the interview with us, Mr. Yenokyan mentioned which are the positive and negative aspects of this decision for us. “They made a pretty much serious decision in terms of the legal aspect. They showed that they accept these people as citizens of Azerbaijan. This is both good and bad. It was bad that they do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as a separate state, but on the other hand, they do not accept that Azerbaijan effectively manages its lands; therefore, the people living there need self-determination.” Mr. Yenokyan has the impression that these decisions cannot become an issue for the Armenian diplomacy as we have had many chances but we have not used them. According to the expert, the emphasis should be made on the fact that this decision proves that the Azerbaijani government authorities are not working effectively and therefore other government authorities should operate there.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
