Artsakh President: Azerbaijan too soon forgot about its obligations  under tripartite declaration

ArmInfo.Azerbaijan forgot too quickly that it had undertaken to guarantee the security of the  two-way movement of citizens, vehicles and goods along the  internationally recognized Lachin corridor.

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan states.  According to him, Azerbaijan is also trying to  ignore the fact that it has assumed responsibility for maintaining  the line of contact between the troops and Artsakh.  Harutyunyan also  lamented that other agreements important for Artsakh were also not  fulfilled, including the release of prisoners of war, hostages and  other detainees, the return of internally displaced citizens to their  homes.

"Azerbaijan assumed these obligations, yes, in exchange for ending  the war, saving the lives of thousands of soldiers and territories  that retreated to it without firing a shot. There was no agreement to  close the issue of Artsakh's international status with this document.  Nobody should forget that the conflict arose as a result of a dispute  over the status of Artsakh, which was initially recognized by the  entire civilized world. This status has not yet been determined at  the international level," Harutyunyan recalled.

Referring to Azerbaijan's demands to abolish the Artsakh Defense  Army, the NKR President noted that with its illegal demands and  counter-offensive actions, Azerbaijan is trying to destroy the  existing fragile security system of Nagorno-Karabakh and its people.

" The demands to disarm the Artsakh Defense Army, as well as the  fictitious reasons for hindering its logistical support, pursue this  very goal. It is clear that the real goals of Azerbaijan are  completely different:  to deprive the people of Artsakh of all  security guarantees and force people to leave their native lands,  thereby giving official Baku the opportunity to occupy Artsakh  without war," the head of the NKR said.  The President of Artsakh  stated that paragraph 4 of the Tripartite Declaration of November 9  refutes the Azerbaijani interpretation of the document and clearly  defines the geography of the deployment of Russian peacekeeping  forces, and hence the withdrawal of Armenian troops.

"The line of contact and the Lachin corridor are designated as the  areas of deployment of the peacekeeping troops of the Russian  Federation. In other words, in accordance with point 4, our armed  forces are withdrawn not from all of Nagorno Karabakh, as Baku is  trying to represent, but from the locations of Russian peacekeeping  forces.  Because peacekeepers are not deployed along the entire line  of contact, and also do not have an international mandate and  authority or the ability to use force to perform their functions,  then the units of the Artsakh Defense Army have the right and are  obliged to carry out combat duty on the line of contact," Harutyunyan  emphasized.

He also drew attention to the fact that the statement does not  contain a word about the demilitarization of the Republic of Artsakh  and the withdrawal of its own armed forces from the republic. The  head of the NKR drew attention to the fact that Azerbaijan, in  addition to not fulfilling the obligations assumed by the Trilateral  Declaration, continues aggressive actions, starting the unrestrained  militarization of the occupied and surrendered territories, creating  conditions for further counter-offensive actions against Artsakh and  Armenia.

"By the way, it is worth remembering that in almost all conflict  settlement packages, the international community stipulated that the  territories around Nagorno-Karabakh should be demilitarized, while  Azerbaijan does the exact opposite. Therefore, taking into account  that the only source of danger in the region is the Azerbaijani side,  the international community should be consistent in preventing its  new aggressive actions , including through the demilitarization of  the indicated territories under Azerbaijani control," the President  of Artsakh said.

Understanding very well the limited capabilities of the peacekeepers,  Harutyunyan continued, they nevertheless must support the creation of  safe and decent living conditions for the citizens of Artsakh,  including respecting their right to self-defense.

According to him, people under the threat of ethnic cleansing should  either be protected within the framework of the international concept  of "Obligation to Protect", or provided with means and opportunities  for self-defense. "No matter how strong and dangerous the pressure  exerted by Azerbaijan, Artsakh has the right to self-defence, and the  international community has an obligation to protect it.  Regardless  of the means and opportunities available to the people of Artsakh,  they are obliged and have the right to defend themselves for the sake  of their own salvation. The international community must also decide  how it can protect the people of Artsakh, through political and  diplomatic means or by providing the necessary means for  self-defense," the head of Artsakh said.

Regarding the statements of the Azerbaijani side that the alleged use  of the corridor for the economic development or security of Artsakh  is prohibited by the Tripartite Declaration of November 9, and only  its humanitarian use is possible, as well as the entry of citizens of  other states is prohibited there, Harutyunyan noted that the  paragraph 6 of the tripartite declaration refers to the establishment  of the Lachin corridor, which will provide a connection between  Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia and which remains under the control of  the peacekeeping forces of the Russian Federation.

"There is no mention of restrictions on the entry and exit of  citizens, the classification of imported and exported goods, and the  types of vehicles used in the Tripartite Declaration of November 9  and in other tripartite documents adopted later. Either way, even in  this case, we have always been and we are ready to take additional  measures to increase the level of transparency of cargo  transportation along the Lachin corridor. In this framework, we have  repeatedly proposed to the Russian side to set up appropriate  technical means to improve their control. We have also repeatedly  declared our readiness to accept an international fact-finding  mission, but all these initiatives were blocked by Azerbaijan,"  Harutyunyan added.

At the same time, he believes that in the context of the ongoing  aggressive behavior of Azerbaijan, it is at least incomprehensible  that the attention and speech of some actors are focused on purely  humanitarian issues and additional control of cargo transportation.  "This means that they ignore the elephant, which is the only source  of danger in the entire region, and look for a mouse in the room,"  Harutyunyan said, adding that the tripartite statement does not  provide for the presence of Azerbaijanis in the Lachin corridor and  there is an obligation not to create problems there.

"It is clear that the operation of the 5-kilometer Lachin corridor,  which remains under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces,  already excludes any Azerbaijani presence and intervention there.  Attempts to unilaterally revise the provisions of the Tripartite  Declaration of November 9, 2020 and turn the Lachin Corridor, which  has an internationally recognized status, into a road controlled by  Azerbaijan and exclusively for the transport of humanitarian goods,  are not authorized and therefore must be rejected," the NKR head  emphasized.

As a way out of the current situation, Harutyunyan mentioned the  decisive and long-term struggle through the consolidation and  effective realization of all national capabilities. "The natural and  indisputable right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination  must, in the end, win, on the way to which the unconditional and  unwavering support of the Republic of Armenia and the entire Armenian  people is simply a necessary condition. If we can show sufficient  will and skill in this struggle, at least at this stage, to prevent  irreversible concessions and losses to the detriment of our vital  interests, then we will be able to wage a long struggle for the  defense and freedom of our homeland, and we will gradually receive  due international attention and support. In the end, only struggling  nations succeed, and rights in this world order are not given just  like that, they are earned and preserved in a continuous struggle,"  Harutyunyan summed up.