ArmInfo.At his news conference on September 28, Armenia's second president Robert Kocharyan said that his concerns over Artsakh are becoming a reality, and Armenia's incumbent authorities are doing nothing to remedy the situation.
He pointed out the fact that the Artsakh issue is not on the negotiation agenda - and not only in Brussels.
"It is the negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has been over Nagorno-Karabakh. I can hardly imagine normalization of these relations without certainty and general idea of the ways of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Of course, if any progress has been made, we can conclude that an agreement on the Karabakh problem has been reached - a tacit one or not," Kocharyan said.
The fact that Armenia's authorities are not any longer using such phrases as the Republic of Artsakh, self- determination, sovereignty are evidence of serious problems facing the Armenian side.
"As far as I know, Azerbaijan - and they are not concealing it - is stating the Karabakh problem is solved, and it is not going to discuss it with Armenia. And Armenia does not appear to be opposing this approach. If it continues like that, the further negotiation format will be as follows: Baku-Stepanakert and, to an extent, Moscow," Kocharyan said as he offered experts and reporters to make their own assessments.
Also, the Artsakh authorities have adapted to the situation. In their statements they speak of self- determination, sovereignty and Republic, but in other formats the content is "Armenia has washed its hands of it, and we can do nothing but find a way of keeping people here, which cannot be done without collaborating with Azerbaijan."
"And the Artsakh authorities have recently been doing so with greater zeal. They have become more dependent on Azerbaijan. The fact that the new road has been constructed without a new gas pipeline and re-installation of electricity poles, with the communication cable remaining on the old road, is evidence that Azerbaijan can drive the Artsakh population into a corner. And for the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities it will be another reason for collaborating with Azerbaijan," Kocharyan said.
An attempt can be made to start dissolving the Nagorno-Karabakh government institutions, which is a great threat.
"I think it will be the next step. And it is Karabakh - Artsakh authorities with the support of Armenia's authorities - that must first of all fight against it," Kocharyan said.
A positive fact is that 95% of Armenians cannot imagine Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, but do not yet struggle against it. According to Kocharyan, people are either insincere during polls or they cannot imagine where the country is going.