STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 11, ARMENPRESS. If the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is not clearly mentioned in the 5 points presented by Azerbaijan for the draft peace agreement with Armenia, it, in fact, means that these two processes are separated, Artur Harutyunyan, Head of the Free Motherland-UCA faction of the Artsakh Parliament, said in an interview to ARMENPRESS, commenting on the quadrilateral statement adopted in Prague on October 6 according to which “Armenia and Azerbaijan confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, through which both sides recognize each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

“The message of that statement adopted as a result of the quadrilateral meeting in Prague was that the two countries recognize each other’s territorial integrity, which the authorities of Armenia were also talking about before. When Azerbaijan presented its 5-point proposals for the draft peace treaty, the Armenian authorities expressed their position that they have not had and do not have any demand to its territorial integrity. Here the issue concerns the exercise of the right of Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination in accordance with the nations’ right to self-determination enshrined by international norms”, he said. “The Republic of Artsakh cannot have anything to do with the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan because we have declared our independence under the jurisdiction of the respective USSR legislation and all international norms, like Azerbaijan. We have repeatedly said that under the law adopted in USSR in April 1991, according to which the states, including separate entities, can withdraw and create a separate state, we have adopted a declaration of independence, then we held a referendum with the same jurisdiction as Azerbaijan has left the USSR”, the head of the faction said, adding that within the frames of the same legal norms 2 states have been created taking into account the fact that the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast has also been a separate entity within the Azerbaijan SSR.

As for Artsakh’s direct dialogue with Azerbaijan, Artur Harutyunyan said Artsakh is ready to that if it is recognized internationally as a party to the conflict and a full party to the negotiation within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. “If there is the idea to hold negotiations directly between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, we are ready only if the international community guarantees that Artsakh is a full party. In that case we are ready for discussions, but, of course, based on the three principles that are enshrined within the Co-Chairmanship format – the nations’ right to self-determination, territorial integrity and non-use of force”, he said.

Van Novikov