Wednesday, October 19 2022 16:39

ArmInfo."The people of Artsakh should clearly understand the approaches of various world centers of power regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict.  And we are grateful to Congressman Pallone for such  frankness," Artsakh Foreign Minister David Babayan said in an  interview with ArmInfo correspondent, expressing his attitude to the  statement by US Congressman Frank Pallone regarding the fact that the  "Western model" of the settlement of the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict  involves granting autonomy to Artsakh within Azerbaijan.

According to Babayan, this frankness will allow the people of Artsakh  to more realistically assess the geopolitical trends and plans of  various players in the world regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

And yet, according to Babayan, as regards the autonomy of Artsakh  within Azerbaijan and the opinion that this status should be the same  as it was under the USSR, a number of problems arise in this aspect,  and first of all, a problem of an exclusively value-based nature. 

"The United States, historically and inherently, is a supporter of  democracy, human rights and freedoms.  Therefore, during the years of  the existence of the Soviet Union, they considered this country to be  an "evil empire", and fought it in every possible way, did everything  to erase it from the political map of the world, while Joseph Stalin  was considered one of the main tyrants of mankind, and his policy on  the national issue in the USSR reflected the ideology of the Soviet  communist dictatorship. And in fact, today Artsakh being a part of  Azerbaijan is nothing but a continuation of the Stalinist national  policy, its restoration," Artsakh Foreign Minister said.

At the same time, he recalled that Nagorno-Karabakh is fighting for  its fundamental rights - for the right to exist through the  self-determination of nations and for the democratic principles of  its young state. "Does what Pallone claims mean that the United  States is ready to sacrifice democratic Artsakh to totalitarian  Azerbaijan? Or is this the personal opinion of Mr. Pallone, or is it  a state approach, the approach of the legislature? We need to  understand, and in this case we need more a clear position," the  chief diplomat of Artsakh said.

At the same time, Babayan believes that if the United States really  adheres to such a position, then this is nothing more than a strong  blow to its own system of values, which the West is promoting around  the world- democracy, human rights and other freedoms.

Babayan is convinced that the rejection by American lawmakers of the  fundamental principles of the United States as the bearer of world  democracy once again proves the rightness of Artsakh, which assesses  the current geopolitical stage as a "stage of naked geopolitics",  where the democratic value system is relegated far into the  background.

"As for the issue of Artsakh being a part of Azerbaijan and turning  to historical facts, such an approach cannot withstand criticism,  because Artsakh has never been a part of sovereign independent  Azerbaijan.  There was the Soviet Union - a supranational state, and  Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomy was part of the USSR,"  Babayan  recalled, noting that under the USSR, the Azerbaijan Soviet Republic  did not have the rights to key decisions on autonomy, including that  it could not abolish the autonomy of Nagorno- Karabakh, which was  guaranteed by the Constitution of the USSR.

At the same time, Babayan emphasized that for Artsakh, the  above-mentioned is already a past stage..  "Today's Azerbaijan is a  totalitarian state, where Armenophobia has been elevated to the rank  of a state ideology, almost a religion. And this means that Pallone's  proposal is nothing else than to allow the people of Artsakh to be  massacred, subjected to genocide. Therefore, I believe that this is a  past stage and our people no longer see themselves as part of a  totalitarian dictatorial dynastic Azerbaijan," the head of the NKR  Foreign Ministry said.

To clarify whether Babayan shares the position of the American  congressman regarding the fact that the war around Ukraine has  weakened Russia so much that its position in the region can be  disregarded, including on the issue of the future of Artsakh, Babayan  noted that if the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is considered in the  context of global geopolitics, that is, according to the principle of  "nothing personal, just business" - this is one thing. But there is  something else: "We do not consider it necessary to be included in  this discourse. For us, Russia is a fraternal country, but this does  not mean, again, that we are enemies of America or Iran, or France or  another country, because we are a people with Diasporas," the  Minister said.

Babayan believes that the issue in this case should be considered in  the context of global geopolitics and one's own national interests.   "Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan, because in this case it will  not exist at all," Babayan concluded.