David Babayan: European structures should not turn into a bazaar

The European structures should not turn into a bazaar, David Babayan, Spokesman for the Nagorno-Karabakh President, has told ArmInfo when commenting on adoption of the anti-Armenian draft resolution on Sarsang reservoir "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deprived of water". The document was adopted by the PACE Committee on Social Affairs, Health and Sustainable Development.   

Babayan thinks that PACE's adoption of the anti-Armenian draft resolution is not the result of negligence of Armenian diplomacy or its inefficiency. "The problem is much deeper. These are dangerous trends for democracy in general. Azerbaijan is actively introducing corruption schemes in the organization and if certain European structures are turning into a bazaar, where money starts playing the crucial role, even the efficient activity of the Armenian side cannot give the expected result," Babayan said, noting that this way the European structures endanger the democratic institutions. 

"We have nothing to be ashamed of. Nagorno-Karabakh has never used such methods of work and has repeatedly stated that it wants lasting peace in the region. The state policy of the NKR has never been based on extreme nationalist ideas and it seeks to develop democratic institutions," says Babayan. He stresses that the Armenian side will do everything possible to resist that pro-Azerbaijani resolution.      

To note, on November 23, the PACE Committee adopted another anti-Armenian draft resolution - this time on Sarsang reservoir - "Inhabitants of frontier regions of Azerbaijan are deprived of water". APA reports that "the adopted document assesses the deliberate creation of the ecological crisis as 'ecological aggression'. The document also notes that the creation of zones of ecological disaster and an attempt to make it impossible for the normal living of the population in these areas should be seen as a hostile move against one state to another, and condition of Sarsang dam can cause casualties and disasters, accompanied by a new humanitarian crisis". 

To recall, Bosnian rapporteur on the issue of Sarsang Reservoir Milica Markovic and a member of the Armenian Delegation to PACE Vahan Babayan burst into heated arguments during discussion of the draft report on the Sarsang reservoir at the PACE Committee for Social Affairs.  Markovic, in particular, blamed Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh for creating obstacles to her visit to Armenia and the NKR for preparation of the report. She warned to prepare the report without visiting the countries if she gets no opportunity to do it by October 31. In response, the Armenian parliamentarian Vahan Babanyan said Armenia did not refuse to receive the rapporteur. "We just said that we will be able to organize the visit in November 2015," he said adding that PACE is not the very platform where one can speak with ultimatums. He said that Markovic has not visited the Sarsang reservoir just because of her unwillingness to apply for permission to the NKR authorities.  The Armenian delegation has repeatedly explained to her that it is a necessity, while Markovic refuses to apply to the NKR as it is an unrecognized country.  

Sarsang reservoir was built on Tartar river in 1976. The area of the reservoir is 14.2 km2 (5.5 sq mi). The overall volume of the reservoir is 575 million m The height of the dam at the reservoir is 125 m (410 ft).  The reservoir has the tallest dam out of all dams in Artsakh. Since opening, the reservoir has provided irrigation water for 100,000 ha (1,000,000 km) of agricultural lands in Tartar.  Sarsang Hydro Power Plant with capacity of 50 megawatt is based on the reservoir and operated by Artsakh HEK OJSC. It is the main source of electric  energy for Nagorno- Karabakh Republic (40-60%).  With its beautiful surrounding nature, Sarsang reservoir is expected to be one of the major tourism centers of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the long run.