ArmInfo.Azerbaijan's territorial claims to the Republic of Artsakh have neither historical nor legal basis. Political scientist Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan holds this view.
Thus, the expert, responding to the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the discussions at the Valdai Club on October 21, where the latter, referring to the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, noted that there are maps in the General Staff of Russia, that show how the border between the Union republics was the Soviet period and on the basis of which the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be determined, Jalalyan stressed that the maps of the Soviet period cannot be the basis for this process.
The political scientist emphasized that Soviet maps cannot form the basis for determining the boundaries for 4 reasons:
Firstly, a state called Azerbaijan was established on May 28, 1918 by the authorities of Ottoman Turkey as a result of the invasion of the Turkish army into Transcaucasia. The name of the newly established state Azerbaijan was chosen from the name of a province located in the northeast of neighboring Iran.
Secondly, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed on May 28, 1918 and existed until April 28, 1920, was internationally unrecognized, and on December 1, 1920, the League of Nations officially rejected Azerbaijan's request for membership in the League of Nations in writing, referring the fact that it had never been a state before and appropriated the name of the neighboring Persian province, making it the name of the state, and it is also impossible to determine the exact borders of Azerbaijan due to border disputes with neighboring countries.
Thirdly, according to the declaration "On the restoration of the state independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan", adopted on August 30, 1991 and the constitutional act of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the restoration of the state independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan", adopted on October 18, 1991, Azerbaijan renounced the succession of Soviet Azerbaijan, restoring its statehood under the name of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, which existed since May 28, 1918 until April 28, 1920 and was not internationally recognized, and of which Artsakh has never been a part.
And fourthly, both by the declaration and by the constitutional act, which renounced the legal succession of Soviet Azerbaijan and proclaimed itself the legal successor of the existing in 1918-1920 the internationally unrecognized Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the Azerbaijan Republic, in fact, invalidated all legislative acts adopted during the Soviet period regarding Azerbaijan.
"In fact, having adopted the abovementioned documents, the Republic of Azerbaijan annulled the decision of the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia of July 5, 1921 on the annexation of Artsakh to Soviet Azerbaijan, which, in fact, was neither discussed in the meeting nor put to a vote, but an "illegal decision on its seizure" was made, "Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan emphasized.
At the same time, referring to the Soviet period, the political scientist recalled that on November 30, 1920, by the decision of the Revolutionary Committee of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Nagorno- Karabakh was declared a part of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.
"On June 12, 1921, by a decree adopted by the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Armenia, Alexander Myasnikyan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Sovietized on May 26, 1920, was declared an integral part of Soviet Armenia. Moreover, by the decision of the revolutionary committee of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic of November 30, 1920 it was recognized as part of the Socialist Republic of Soviet Armenia, and according to the decree adopted by the Council of People's Commissars of Soviet Armenia on June 12, 1921, Artsakh, which is an integral part of Soviet Armenia, by an illegal decision of July 5, 1921of the Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party of Soviet Russia, which did not have the right to decide territorial issues, without discussion and voting, that is, in fact, without adoption, by an illegal decision, was annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan, not taking into account the will of the people of Artsakh, "the expert noted.
In addition, according to Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan, the authorities of Soviet Azerbaijan, violating the illegal decision of the Caucasian bureau of July 5, 1921, which was not discussed and not put to a vote, formed an autonomous region only on a part of the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, while deliberately leaving the Shahumyan region, Karvachar region, Kashatagh region, Kovsakan region, Akn region, Kashunik region, Jrakan region, Varandi region, geographically and historically considered territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, outside the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region.
He also drew attention to the fact that the government of Soviet Azerbaijan, not taking into account the opinion of the people of Artsakh, by a decree of July 7, 1923, illegally annexed large territories of the northern, southern, eastern and western parts of Artsakh to the territory of Soviet Azerbaijan.
"Grossly violating the principles of the peaceful settlement of disputes and the non-use of Force or the threat of force, adopted by the final act on August 1, 1975 at the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, September 27, 2020 as a result of unleashing a third aggressive war, with the support of Turkey and using hired terrorists against the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan occupied about 75% of the constitutionally secured territory of the Republic of Artsakh. As a result of three aggressive wars unleashed against the Republic of Artsakh, Azerbaijan occupied about 84% of the constitutionally secured territory of the Republic of Artsakh, "the expert emphasized.
At the same time, the political scientist drew attention to the fact that the UN did not discuss in any format the issues of recognizing the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan or its territorial integrity.
He recalled that according to the UN Charter, the rules of procedure of the General Assembly and the UN Security Council, unlike the already defunct League of Nations, the UN does not have the authority to recognize the borders or territorial integrity of the state. "The study of all the documents adopted by the UN on Azerbaijan's accession to the Organization allows us to assert that the UN in any format did not discuss the issues of recognizing the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan or its territorial integrity.
On January 14, 1992 the President of Azerbaijan, who officially addressed the UN Secretary General in writing with a request for Azerbaijan's accession to the Organization, informed the UN about the restoration of independence lost in April 1920, thereby informing the world community that Azerbaijan will restore its internationally unrecognized statehood, within which Artsakh has never been in any status. Based on the statement of the President of Azerbaijan dated January 14, 1992 addressed to the Secretary General for membership in the UN and on the General Assembly resolution dated March 2, 1992 on the admission of Azerbaijan to the UN membership, it can be argued that the United Nations Organization accepted Azerbaijan as a member without the Republic of Artsakh. Based on the abovementioned, I would like to stress once again that Azerbaijan's territorial claims to the Republic of Artsakh have neither a historical nor a legal basis. Artsakh has never been and will never be a part of Azerbaijan, "Stepan Hasan-Jalalyan summed up.