The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Armenian Parliament gave a negative conclusion for the bill on recognizing the independence of Nagorno Karabakh.
The bill had been presented by MPs Zaruhi Postanjian and Hrant Bagratian.
Head of the “Heritage” faction Zaruhi Postanjian said the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh meets all preconditions of international law for a sovereign state. She added that the law will allow Armenia along with Nagorno Karabakh and other interested countries to assist in eliminating the consequences in the conflict zone in the post-conflict period, resettlement of territories and return of refugees.
Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharian said the adoption of the bill is not appropriate in the moment. “Ensuring the security of Nagorno Karabakh and its population is the main goal of Armenia in the settlement issue of the conflict. This is our main goal, and the most important component of security is the status. That is, the independence of Nagorno Karabakh is a necessary condition for this security, but not enough. I only mention this. We look at the recognition issue in this context, and in this case, looking at it from this context, the Government concluded that it is not appropriate”, the Deputy FM said.
After lengthy discussions Chairman of the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs Artak Zakarian said it will be very difficult for him to vote against the bill, because during his entire career his goal was the international recognition of Nagorno Karabakh. “I cannot vote in favor of this bill. I don’t know, maybe the day after tomorrow we will vote in favor, therefore, I won’t even take part in the voting”, Zakarian said.
Afterwards the Chairman began the voting. The majority of the Committee members did not take part.
MP of the “Heritage” faction Tevan Poghosian and RPA faction MP Hamlet Harutyunian took part in the voting. Poghosyan voted in favor of the bill, while Harutyunian against. Therefore, the conclusion of the Committee was negative. The Committee did not endorse the bill. The issue of including the bill in the agenda of the plenary session will be discussed later.