ArmInfo.Given the position voiced today by official Baku, I do not see any options for the Karabakh settlement. The second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan stated this in an interview to the TV channel commenting on the issue of the Karabakh settlement.
Kocharyan noted that the settlement should be viewed both in a broad and in a narrower context. "There is one fact, that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has never been a part of independent Azerbaijan. I would like to note that the legal basis for the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is impeccable. I wrote this declaration. The then Constitution of the Soviet Union allowed, during the secession of the republic or autonomy, or even compactly living national minorities to decide in referendums their fate absolutely in accordance with the current legislation. And finally, as you know, it is a fact that the Karabakh Republic has existed for almost 30 years, "the second president of Armenia stressed.
Kocharyan noted that Karabakh is developing quite actively and effectively defending its borders. "Today Azerbaijan denies this thirty-year-old objective reality. But how can the problem be solved if the objective characteristics of this problem are denied, "the second president of Armenia emphasized.
Kocharyan also noted that almost every clash on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border can turn into a full-scale conflict. He also noted that this is precisely why Russia and the representatives of the OSCE Minsk Group tried to calm the situation as soon as possible, despite the fact that the recent clashes were incomparable with the scale of the April war. "The threat of a resumption of war is constantly present, which is why the mediators and the international community are especially attentive in this matter," the second president stressed. He also noted that Turkey behaved very aggressively in this matter. "All this is problematic for us. Turkey is an existential threat to Armenia, and therefore we react very painfully to such situations. Turkey has always had claims to the South Caucasus, and in such situations it is trying to expand its influence in the region, "Kocharyan stressed.
Also, the second president of Armenia stated that in the current situation only Russia is able to restrain such aspirations of Turkey. "Therefore, it is very important for us that the only real restraining factor for Turkey the Russian factor, works, because, I repeat, this is an existential threat for us. Therefore, it is very important for Armenia that the Russian deterrent factor works in the region'', Kocharyan concluded.