Journalist Tatul Hakobyan assures that the Kazan document is similar to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s proposed phased solution option in 1997. Recall that a few days ago, journalist Tatul Hakobyan published the Kazan document on the Karabakh settlement, which until 2011 was a working document for those who were participating in the negotiation process on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “The Kazan document, yes, I think it is very close to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s proposed status in 1997, which was aggressively rejected by the then Prime Minister Robert Kocharian, the then Minister of Interior Affairs Serzh Sargsyan, all-mighty doomed Vazgen Sargsyan … Today, a new Kazan document is put on the negotiating table, which is worse than the Kazan document, which was refused by Azerbaijan.
The similarity of Lavrov-Putin plan and Ter-Petrosyan’s offer is that in both cases the status of Karabakh is left to an uncertain future. It is true that there is some advantage in the Russian proposals in the sense that it is at least talking about a referendum, but it is obvious that Azerbaijan does not accept it and it is not feasible. Like in 1997, so as in this Putin-Lavrov plan, the issue of the status is again left to the future. The issue of the territories is solved as Ter-Petrosyan was suggesting to solve in 1997. There are two big gaps, whether Armenia’s and Karabakh authorities will accept the Lavrov-Putin plan because unlike in 1997, at least in the written text, there was no word about giving Karvachar back, in this proposal, which has not been published but I know the contents of it, the issue of Karvachar was left to the future as Lachin, five regions are returned,”- told Tatul Hakobyan in an interview with us.
The journalist noted that at least Ter-Petrosyan honestly told the public what the phased solution suggests, “In his “War or peace? Time to get serious” article, he clearly presented his position, and because of his being honest, he was deprived of his power. Serzh Sargsyan was not saying anything, no one knew that some five years ago he had agreed to the phased option in Kazan, and only after the war and losses he had to confess what document it is. In addition, Ter-Petrosyan was taking on the responsibility of the phased version, he was clearly presenting that it was his and PANM party’s choice. Unlike the year 1997, the current president could find the way of evading the responsibility.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
