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YEREVAN, DECEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS: The joint statement by the OSCE Minsk group co-chairing states, Armenia and Azerbaijan showed that the Nagorno Karabakh issue cannot be settled only on the basis of the territorial integrity, according to Karen Bekaryan, chairman of the ‘European Integration’ NGO.
He said today in an interview with Armenpress that even the OSCE summit in Astana registered that the regulation of the Nagorno Karabakh issue is possible only on the basis of the three equal principles – territorial integrity, self-determination of peoples, non-use of force or threat of force. ‘The introduction of the memorandum attributes to the Helsinki Final Act and the UN Charter and it is advantageous for us.
The UN Charter defines the UN’s goals, among which the right of peoples to self-determination is touched upon. Afterward the UN Charter defines the tools, including the territorial integrity,’ Karen Bekaryan said. He said that the document excludes the superiority of the principle of territorial integrity over the right of peoples to self-determination, and even attaches a greater importance to the principle of self-determination. He added this caused a shock in Azerbaijan.
Karen Bekaryan says Azerbaijan was happy about the fact that the RA President did not depart for Lisbon; however the response to this summit was not the same. ‘The RA President’s recent political steps brought to the logical final point. His address showed that if we face a military adventure or threat of force by Azerbaijan, we will recognize the independence of Artsakh de jure and will exert every resource and effort to ensure the security and defense of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic,’ he said.
According to Karen Bekaryan, the document, signed in Astana, has just one shortcoming – the signature of the NKR President does not exist in it. ‘It would be much more efficient if the NKR partook in the drafting of the document as a separate party,’ Karen Bekaryan said.