ArmInfo.The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group are united in their approaches to resolving the remaining issues of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on the basis of the basic principles of the settlement. On December 11, during a round table in Sputnik dedicated to the Karabakh conflict, the professor, honorary doctor of MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), former head of the Armenian Foreign Ministry (held this post in 2008-2018) Edward Nalbandian stated this.
He stated that 3 weeks ago it was not clear whether the co-chairing countries would be able to agree on a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the Minsk Group co-chairing countries, which was circulated after the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting in early December, since after the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia signed a joint statement, Paris and Washington had some questions about this document.
At the same time, Nalbandian stated that the document of November 9 created the legal basis for the introduction of Russian peacekeepers in the region and the cessation of hostilities.
"After that, there were doubts about the reasonability of preserving the Minsk negotiation format, the functioning of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk. But, in the joint statement, the importance of preserving Kasprzyk's office was also indicated, and that the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs remain united in their approaches to resolving the remaining settlement issues on the basis of basic principles. What remains? Among the remaining issues is the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh. It is not defined in this document. Although, later Russia clarified that this issue remains on the agenda. Now the key important issue is still the intermediate status of Nagorno- Karabakh, which will determine the further fate of Artsakh, "Nalbandian noted, adding that under the intermediate status, Nagorno-Karabakh was endowed with the right to form all bodies of state structures, receive foreign direct investment, and access to foreign markets, access to humanitarian projects, participation in the work of international structures, if it did not contradict the peace agreements. "According to the Armenian diplomat, another important issue during the interim status is the issue of ensuring the security of Nagorno-Karabakh.
At the same time, he called untenable some statements that Russia had withdrawn the issue of the status of Artsakh from the agreement, recalling that it was on the agenda of negotiations at all stages, in all working documents, including the Kazan document, which Azerbaijan rejected.
In this regard, Nalbandian stressed that the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be determined through the free expression of the will of its population, and which would have a binding international character for everyone, including Azerbaijan. At the same time, the former Foreign Minister of Armenia stressed that the negotiations also determined the ethnic proportions of participation in the referendum, which are based on the data of the latest census of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988. "Of course, in this situation, when a war occurred, changes in configurations took place, the issue of Artsakh's status may be postponed, but it cannot be removed from the agenda, although Azerbaijan claims that it has been removed from the agenda," the diplomat said, recalling that if earlier the co-chairs always pointed out the importance of adhering to the three principles (not the use of force or the threat of force, territorial integrity and the right of peoples to self-determination), then in the last statement they only focused on the non-use of force, while the issue of self-determination was silenced. Nalbandian also touched upon yesterday's statements by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey, in which they expressed territorial claims to Armenia and threats against Armenians, calling these statements dangerous. "Apparently, the ambitions of Aliyev and Erdogan were not fully satisfied and I consider the threats that sound from Baku and Ankara to be dangerous. In this regard, it was impossible to remain completely silent who was the initiator of the violations of the termless ceasefire agreements from 1994- 95," former Foreign Minister of Armenia stressed. He pointed to the obviousness that it was Azerbaijan that initiated the hostilities in September of this year, and expressed his conviction that the statements made yesterday from Baku are the result of not voicing who is the initiator of hostilites.
Touching upon the position of Armenia on the status of Artsakh, Nalbandian noted that official Yerevan always adhered to the position that if Azerbaijan initiates a new war, they will have to recognize Nagorno- Karabakh, since there will be no opportunity to continue negotiations.
"The question arises why this was not done in April 2016. The fact is that the hostilities were stopped within 3.5 days. But then all the documents were prepared to recognize the independence of Nagorno- Karabakh. And we were ready for this. However, intensive negotiations on a ceasefire were held, and if they failed, then Armenia would have recognized Artsakh. Thanks to the immediate reaction of Russia, it became possible to end hostilities, "Nalbadian said, adding that the mediators have always stressed that the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh will put an end to the negotiations, which is why Artsakh was not recognized, but during the 44-day war there was every reason for the recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh, and this step could be beneficial.