The Artsakh Union expresses its deep concern over the agenda of today’s trilateral meeting in Washington between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, and in particular over the absolute disregard for and violation of the rights of the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who have been subjected to genocide and forcible deprivation of their homeland.
Of course, reaching a negotiated agreement on certain conflict-related issues under the guarantee of the leading global power can, in itself, be considered progress. However, this cannot be done at the expense of other fundamental issues and the primary victims’ essential rights.
According to information available in the public domain, the meeting’s agenda does not include issues related to Artsakh and its people — for example: the safe, collective and dignified return of the people of Artsakh; the introduction and implementation of mechanisms for the protection of Artsakh’s cultural heritage, as well as private and public property; the release of all 23 Armenian captives held in Baku; and so on. It would be both logical and morally appropriate for at least the issue of the captives’ return to be resolved as a necessary humanitarian step toward peace.
Equally concerning are reports about the dissolution of the OSCE Minsk Group, established to resolve the Artsakh conflict — a major diplomatic defeat for Armenia’s foreign policy. This institution is the only format having international mandate for the conflict settlement. The fact that the conflict has not yet been resolved is confirmed by numerous international legal acts and norms, according to which a status quo established by force cannot be legitimized. Moreover, it is deeply troubling that the Armenian authorities — who have repeatedly stated their intention to dissolve the Minsk Group upon the signing of a “peace agreement” — are now taking this strategic misstep without any agreement being signed, without the release of the captives and without any other concession from Azerbaijan.
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A peace built on the mass violation and neglect of the rights of 150,000 Christian Armenians of Artsakh, on their forced displacement and on their shattered destinies cannot be just and sustainable. Hence, no one desires peace more than the people of Artsakh; however, conflict settlement is not an end in itself. There is a simple truth: no settlement document can be viable if one side receives everything while the other side receives nothing.
The Artsakh Union demands that the Armenian authorities fulfill their commitments toward the people of Artsakh and ensure the protection and restoration of their rights in the process of conflict resolution.
The Artsakh Union also calls on the U.S. authorities, and personally on President Donald Trump, not to ignore the essence and causes of the conflict and, as the chief guarantor of the world order, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, to ensure: the return of the people of Artsakh to their homeland; the protection of cultural heritage and public and private property; the immediate release of Armenian captives; the return of the Armenian occupied territories and the eradication of the policy of anti-Armenian hatred in Azerbaijan. Without effectively addressing these and certain other elements of the conflict, no lasting and comprehensive peace can be achieved in the South Caucasus.
Artsakh Union
