Nagorno-Karabakh parliament responds to Pashinyan’s ‘questionable” statements

An extraordinary session of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) National Assembly retaliated today in a statement to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent interview which, according to the statement, contains dangers and challenges threatening the sovereignty and subjectivity of the Republic of Artsakh.

YEREVAN, December 27. /ARKA/. An extraordinary session of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) National Assembly retaliated today in a statement to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent interview which, according to the statement, contains dangers and challenges threatening the sovereignty and subjectivity of the Republic of Artsakh.

In a December 24 online news conference Pashinyan argued that during the Karabakh negotiations " not a single representative of the Armenian authorities challenged the rights of the Azerbaijanis living in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region that was part of the Soviet Azerbaijan.’

"During the negotiations Nagorno-Karabakh has never been regarded as an exclusively Armenian formation, because Azerbaijanis also lived there, at least it is recorded in the negotiations (and they were supposed to take part in a referendum of Karabakh status). And the protection of their rights was a subject of negotiations,’ Pashinyan said in the interview.

Below is the statement of Artsakh National Assembly.

“Throughout the chronicle of the Karabakh conflict statements distorting and falsifying the essence of the problem have regularly been circulated, which complicate and entangle the process of comprehensive and final settlement of the conflict. We consider inadmissible any statement by different political forces and figures that questions or diminishes the subjectivity of Artsakh and its Armenian future. It is confusing that the last such statement was made by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia while answering the questions of the representatives of media and non-governmental-organizations, on December 24.

The fate of Artsakh has never been and it will not be the monopoly of any political force. We express our disagreement and frustration on a number of harmful, distorted formulations and ideas voiced during the interview. 

The fact that against the background of Karabakh movement, the results of the 1988 national liberation struggle, formulations are heard, which question the existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic, proclaimed on September 2, 1991, which is fully acting in line with the norms of international law and its ongoing struggle for international recognition, is a matter of concern.

The negotiation process of previous years, the legal and political framework of the Armenian parties, in the context of protecting our national interests, did not contradict the positions presented by international structures and mediators.

The fact that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has never been ignored in the proposals previously submitted by the mediators, is confirmed in the clarifications given by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

The working options discussed in the negotiation process of different years, speculations about a possible change in the negotiating framework are imaginary and false tricks to obscure the public consciousness, to distort the realities.

We consider inadmissible the statements questioning the Armenian origin of Artsakh and emphasizing the importance of the presence of possible foreign elements. Such statements are reprehensible and worthy condemnation in the memory of the thousands of Armenians who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of Artsakh. Bowing down to the memory of all those perished in the Artsakh struggle for survival, at the same time, we express our gratitude to all Armenians, particularly to our compatriots in Armenia, for standing by Artsakh, sharing its sufferings and deprivations. For many years, the fraternal relations between the two Armenian republics have been based on the decision adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia on July 8, 1992, which clearly defined the attitude of the Republic of Armenia, a full member of the international community, towards the Artsakh Republic, which is striving for international recognition. 

With this decision, the Republic of Armenia undertakes to "consistently support the Nagorno Karabakh Republic and the protection of the rights of its population". It is also defined to «consider any international or domestic document, where the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is mentioned as part of Azerbaijan, unacceptable for the Republic of Armenia». This resolution is still relevany today. 

The Republic of Artsakh National Assembly, reaffirming the determination of the people and authorities of Artsakh on the sovereignty and independence of the Artsakh Republic, declares unacceptable expressing a position without taking into account the point of view of the Artsakh authorities, as only the legitimate authorities formed by the citizens of the Artsakh Republic through elections have the right to make decisions on the future of Artsakh.” -0-