The developments (Ukraine, Syria, Iraq) taking place in the region over the last 25 years following the collapse of the Soviet Union disclose the issues inherited from the beginning of the 20th century (fall of the Russian Empire and the establishment of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Turkish Republic at the expense of the Armenian patrimony).
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century, Armenia regained its independence in the form of two republics on a 42,000 sq. km. (about 10%) territory of its historic homeland. The Armenian patrimony had been compromised as a result of the Bolshevik-Kemalist deal: Artsakh and Nakhijevan were ceded to Azerbaijan in the USSR, while Cilicia, Western Armenia and a substantial part of Eastern Armenia were handed over to the Turkish Republic.
Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Artsakh declared their independence (to date, the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, or Artsakh, is not internationally recognized) after the fall of the Soviet Union at the end of the 20th century. Azerbaijan, with Turkish support, declared a war against Armenia and Artsakh in response to the latter’s natural right to self-determination.
In 1994 an open-ended truce was reached among the republics of Armenia, Artsakh (Mountainous Karabagh) and Azerbaijan, which was later repeatedly broken by Azerbaijan. On April 2, 2016, Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, moved from breaching the ceasefire to large-scale hostilities.
The last 25 year record of the Republic of Armenia and Artsakh (Mountainous Karabagh) have proved that the parties are the guarantors of peace and stability in the region, in spite of being in a blockade by Azerbaijan and Turkey.
It is time for the international community to fully recognize the important role of its civilized partners, the two Armenian statehoods, who ensure peace and stability in the region and connect the East to the West.
Based on the aforementioned, the “Zharangutyun” (Heritage) Party calls for:
- The Republic of Armenia: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, ruling out any negotiations or the signing of any documents regarding Artsakh without its participation, to withdraw the Republic of Armenia’s signature from the Armenia-Turkey Protocol, to exclude the presence of any foreign force at the Artsakh frontier, to start a process terminating the membership of Azerbaijan in the Council of Europe and to call that country to accountability in front of the various international bodies.
- The Unites States of America: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, to take measures to assist in restoring the Artsakh economy and infrastructure, damaged as a result of the new armed aggression of Azerbaijan, and to initiate the implementation of Wilson’s Arbitral Award.
- The European Union: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh and start negotiations with Artsakh on signing the European Union Association Agreement.
- The Russian Federation: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, to condemn Azerbaijan in unleashing a war against Artsakh through selling its offensive arms to Azerbaijan, to cancel all further agreements with Azerbaijan on selling arms, to refrain from hindering the sovereign right of Iran and Armenia to a gas pipeline, an oil pipeline and a railway.
- The People’s Republic of China: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh and to consider Armenia as a full member in projects of reopening the Silk Road.
- The Islamic Republic of Iran: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, to bring to life the construction of an oil pipeline, a gas pipeline and a railway line between Iran and Armenia, and to consider Armenia as a transit country to Europe.
- The Republic of Georgia: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh, to make Javakhk a mutually vital bridge between the two countries, to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Armenian cultural heritage issues and to participate in the implementation of the projects of Iran-Armenia-Georgia-Europe gas pipeline, oil pipeline and railway construction.
- The citizen and peoples of all ethnic groups in the Republic of Azerbaijan: to overthrow the misanthropic and the criminal regime of the Aliev clan, to demand from the new authorities to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and the right to self-determination of other national units, to contribute to peace in the region and to facilitate the peaceful co-existence of nations.
- The Republic of Turkey: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh and to condemn the Armenian Genocide and its attendant the Great National Dispossession, to compensate and to eliminate its consequences (moral, material and territorial).
- All States of the World: to recognize the Republic of Artsakh and to support the restoration of the Republic of Artsakh’s war-torn economy and infrastructure.
The “Zharangutyun” (Heritage) Party calls on all Armenians to unite around the Armenian statehood, the imperative of serving the national interest.