Euronest meeting in Yerevan: blind eyes and deaf ears

ArmInfo. After the 44-day  war Armenia opted for a way out of the domestic political crisis  through early parliamentary elections, Maria Karapetyan of the Civil  Contract parliamentary faction stated at a meeting of Commissions of  the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, on Tuesday. 

The ruling political force is speaking of the rule of law in its  domestic policy and of establishment of peace in its foreign policy. 

"And Armenia's authorities consider restoration and re-operation of  communications a key issue that needs to be settled. It concerns not  only roads, but also security. We believe interdependence will help  us resolve problems in a more effective way. We believe the Armenian  and Azerbaijani armed forces must leave the border following the  reciprocal withdrawal principle. It will enable the border  demarcation and delimitation process to be launched," she said.  However, she did not mention the fact that Azerbaijani troops are in  Armenia's sovereign territory and further withdrawal of troops would  violate the Armenian populations's fundamental rights. 

Speaking of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ms Karapetyan stressed it  remains unsettled, and Armenia is willing to involve international  forces in reaching a long-lasting settlement of the conflict.   "Humanitarian issues remain on the agenda. Among them is the handover  of Armenian POWs and civilians. We are calling for repatriation of  all the POWs and we are hopeful that the issue will be settled in the  short term. Moreover, international organizations must be provided  with access to the historical, cultural and religious monuments in  the conflict zone," she said. 

Speaking of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Ms  Karapetyan pointed out that the process must not be linked to the  Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. Armenia is for reopening the  Armenian-Turkish border.   

In his turn, Artur Ghazinyan of the Armenia opposition faction  focused on Azerbaijan's aggression against Artsakh. According to him,  over three decades Armenians have been sacrificing their lives to  defend their inalienable right to self-determination.  "Nagorno-Karabakh has always been and will remain Armenian.  And each  Armenian's sacred duty is to defend this truth," he said.  

Artur Khachatryan of the same faction reminded the participants that  the 2020 terrorist attack on Armenia undermined regional security.  Despite the numerous appeals by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs and UN  Secretary General, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale aggression  during the pandemic, which caused suffering to civilians - women,  children and old people. 

Speaking of the unblocking of regional communications, Mr Khachatryan  drew the participants' attention to the fact that Azerbaijan blocked  the communication between Armenia and Artsakh.

"The most cynical was Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's statement  that the Karabakh conflict is settled.  It is not so, and we must now  continue defending peoples' right to decide their fate," he said.   Hayk Mamijanyan, Secretary of the With Honor opposition parliamentary  faction, welcomed a creative approach. 

"Azerbaijan has its own creative approach - ignoring the existing  problems. According to Azerbaijan, there is no conflict in Karabakh.  They believe there are no POWs, no banned weapons or ammunition were  used during the 44-day war, there was no destruction of the Armenian  cultural heritage nor is it taking place now, there were no nor are  there any terrorists in our region. Moreover, they claim their armed  forces are not in Armenia's sovereign territory. Of course, it is a  most interesting approach to the problem - just ignoring it," he  said, recalling the Madrid principles. 

However, ignoring problems does not mean avoiding them. Mr Mamijanyan  stated the Nagorno-Karabakh people is determined to defend its legal  right. "The future is inevitable. Also, on behalf of Armenia's ex-  president, who is being persecuted by the dictatorial Azerbaijani  regime, I would like to state that Artsakh will never be part of  Azerbaijan," he said.  

The Azerbaijani MP Soltan Mammadov said that the Azerbaijani  delegation members are proud to participate in an event in Armenia's  capital. He highlighted the Eastern Partnerhsip's role in  establishing long-lasting peace in the South Caucasus and in  organizing Armenian-Azerbaijani discussions on the subject.  

In response to the problems raised by the Armenian side, he gave  assurances that Azerbaijan's position is in conformity with all the  international norms and humanitarian law. According to him, settling  the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict by force was in full conformity with  international law and "within the internationally recognized borders  of Azerbaijan." 

"I am glad to say again that the conflict is over, and we are  bringing a new geopolitical reality into the region. All  international organizations highlight the importance of involving the  region in cooperation.  Europe is supporting this regional  cooperation as well. We are satisfied with our attempts to bring  peace to the region using all international platforms," he said.  However, he did not mention regular provocations by the Azerbaijani  troops both in Armenia's sovereign territory and in Nagorno-Karabakh,  which are terrorizing Armenian civilians. 

According to Mr Mammadov, the Azerbaijani MPs visit to Armenia is a  sign of thawing bilateral relations.  He gave assurances that  Azerbaijan handed over all the POWs to Armenia immediately after the  war, and the others were allegedly detained after the hostilities.  However, facts prove that a number of people were captured during the  hostilities. 

Mr Mammadov also spoke of the people that went missing during the  first Karabakh war and accused Armenia of being unwilling to provide  information on them. However, he did not mention the Armenians that  went missing during the first war, and nothing is yet known about  them. He also spoke of Azerbaijan's "multicultural society", which is  an internationally recognized fact.  Head of the Azerbaijani  delegation Tahir Mirkisili stated that Azerbaijan does not want "any  attempted revenge." In this context he stated that Armenia is  allegedly a threat to regional security, without mentioning the fact  that the Azerbaijani authorities go on issuing threats and making  territorial claims to Armenia.

"The conflict is in the past. Let us speak of what we want to have in  the future. A peace treaty would be a great chance for our peoples  and for regional development," he said.  Mr Mirkisili  highlighted  the South Caucasus' strategic location, at the crossroads, and the  peoples of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia are well aware of the best  use of resources. In the context of the 3+3 format, he said that the  first meeting took place in Moscow, Russia.

"Among the participants in the format are Azerbaijan, Armenia,  Georgia, Turkey, Russia and Iran. It is an important format for  ensuring a stable peace and economic progress. If we think of global  security, we must first of all ensure security in our countries.  Secondly, we must form good ties between the regional countries,  which requires the neighboring countries' respect for each other's  territorial integrity. We must respect each other. Thirdly, the South  Caucasus states made different geopolitical choices. For example,  Armenia is a member of one bloc, Azerbaijan is a member of the  Non-Aligned Movement, Georgia is not a member of any military bloc,  and they have their choice in the future. Each of the countries is  exerting different efforts in geopolitical terms. If we want peace in  the South Caucasus, we should think of how we can combine this all in  the future," Mr Mirkisili said. 

In response to the Azerbaijani MPs, the Armenian MP Arman Yegoyan  said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by merely  making claims about it is being settled. He is sure many of the  problems are even graver now. 

"Regrettably, the hatred against Armenians, Armenian culture and  everything Armenian is becoming more and more intense in Azerbaijan.  The situation is getting worse and worse. A striking example is the  formation of a committee with a task to erase the Armenian traces and  cultural monuments. They are most likely to share the fate of the  Armenian tombstones in Nakhichevan. They were just destroyed in 2003-  2004," Mr Yegoyan said. 

In response to the Azerbaijani MPs claims about Azerbaijan's  "multicultural society", the Armenian MP asked them about the 500,000  Armenians that once lived in Azerbaijan.

"Are you trying to convince both yourselves and us of that? Peace can  be established, but it is very fragile.  The conflict can only be  settled with mutual respect for each other's rights," he said and  drew the participants' attention to the violation of Armenians'  rights in Azerbaijan.  Co-President of the Euronest Parliamentary  Assembly Maka Botchorishvili noted that peace and stability is a key  to settling regional problems. 

"Georgia is determined to continue its efforts to establish a stable  peace in our region. It is a basic precondition for progress. The 3+3  format has been mentioned here. But I would like to briefly explain  Georgia's position on the initiative. Tbilisi is not participating in  the negotiations, and the format could perhaps be correctly called  3+2," she said. According to her, Russia is using this format to  restrict the West's involvement in the regional settlement processes,  which is in conflict with Georgia's position.