“After the war, thanks to the presence of the Defense Army and Russian peacekeepers, we were able to provide a largely safe environment, not counting the episodes that regularly take lives.
However, there are no large-scale hostilities, but it does not mean that we should be satisfied with these successes,” the State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan, said during a news conference in the press hall of the Armenpress news agency on the 30th anniversary of the Artsakh independence referendum.
Artak Beglaryan, The State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh
He reaffirmed that the conflict must be resolved by peaceful means, on the basis of the unconditional recognition of the rights of the people of Artsakh, including on the basis of the international recognition of the people of Artsakh’s right to autonomy, independence, and the return of the occupied territories. “These are the red lines that should be a guideline for all Armenians of Artsakh when thinking, speaking and making efforts on the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict. Given Azerbaijan’s anti-constructive behavior, it is clear that there is no quick solution to the conflict. Therefore, until the final settlement of the conflict, we believe that international security guarantees, including the presence of peacekeepers, should be indefinite until the final settlement.”
Artak Beglaryan said that 120,000 Armenians already live in Artsakh. There are about 40,000 displaced people whose housing issues are given priority. Speaking about security issues, Artak Beglaryan said, “The incidents are deliberate on the Azerbaijani side in order to keep our population in an atmosphere of fear and push them to emigrate. Before the war, the line of contact with Azerbaijan was about 200 km, now it is about 500 km. Another problem is the proximity of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and bases to our many settlements. Investigative mechanisms are possible, but they are quite weak. They are carried out by Russian peacekeepers, but Azerbaijan does not respond to the proposal to introduce any mechanism. Without Azerbaijan’s wish, no international party wants to use an investigation mechanism.”
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In response to the question of if there were any punishments related to the murder of a person working on water pipes near Shushi by Azeris, Artak Beglaryan answered, “No, even the Azerbaijani side did not give the name of the criminal to us or to the Russian side. They just hid it. They did not investigate the murder of a tractor driver in Martakert in October, nor did they impose any punishment on their criminal soldier.” Artak Beglaryan also said that Azerbaijan will adopt a law on the main occupied territories of the last decade of the conflict settlement, which will clarify the territorial and status issues.
Answering the question related to the status of Artsakh, Artak Beglaryan said, “Our agenda is positive. We imagine that the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination must be recognized. We must achieve international recognition of our independence. We have declared our independence on the basis of clear international law. Any status within Azerbaijan is not acceptable to us, it can not be.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
