“Azerbaijan imposes its will in everything today, including the negotiation agenda. There is no Armenian agenda in the negotiations. An alternative exists, and that alternative is not to sign the document. The RA Government has such an opportunity. Without aggression, the issue of Shushi and Hadrut, the return of prisoners, the case of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the territory of Armenia can be raised. Create a package on which it will be possible to negotiate. Those are our minimum rights,” said former RA Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan at the conference entitled “The Imperative of International Recognition of the Republic of Artsakh.”
He noted: “It may sound strange, but this government has wider opportunities than the previous ones. If this government is psychologically ready to see Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan, it significantly increases the opportunities in international relations. I suggest being more courageous in the legal field. Azerbaijan can and should be thrown down the gauntlet. If Azerbaijan wants to solve the issue with us with Soviet maps, let it restore the territory of NKAO (Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast), including Shushi and Hadrut.”
According to Vardan Oskanyan, the government should also have the courage to discuss the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh in the International Court because the arguments of the Armenian side are substantial. “The International Court can make a political decision. We didn’t need it before because we were the winner, Artsakh was independent, and we had a document on the table that would give us complete self-determination.
Throw down the gauntlet. No document allowing Azerbaijan to “hunt” the Artsakh goldfish can be signed currently. Since independence, our statehood has been anchored on five pillars: Artsakh, Army, Constitution, Church, and Diaspora. All five are broken today, and the pillar of Artsakh is under complete collapse. It is necessary to unite internally and make a real resistance to the government, so as not to sign something that would endanger Artsakh.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
