Armenia`s former FM: Pashinyan must be prevented; otherwise it will  be too late

ArmInfo. Today it becomes obvious that the Armenian people are entering the final stage of the  surrender of Artsakh.

This is stated in an article by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Vartan  Oskanian, published on the CivilNet website.  The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia (1998-2008) shared his concerns about the outcome of the meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan  in Brussels on May 14 and the dangerous trends of the current stage  of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Oskanian believes that each meeting  of Pashinyan in any geographical place further deepens and makes the  process of surrender of Artsakh irreversible. <During the meeting in  Brussels, the problem became more complicated and deepened when  Pashinyan fell into his own trap. He spoke so much about 29,800  square kilometers that Aliyev himself demanded recognition of the  square kilometers of his country, which, of course, cannot leave room  for interpretation, since it also includes the Nagorno-Karabakh  Autonomous Region. The signing of any document with the provisions  described by Charles Michel means that from the moment of signing  Artsakh turns into Javakhk, and, unlike Javakhk, for some time, maybe  in a decade, it will turn into Nakhichevan>, the ex-minister noted.

He added that Pashinyan must be prevented; otherwise it will be too  late. <I think that the Armenian people have every right to prevent  Pashinyan from taking this step. Firstly, Pashinyan simply does not  have the right to sign such a document. Firstly, from a legal point  of view, this document will contradict the Constitution of Armenia  and the decision adopted by the Supreme Council of independent  Armenia in 1992. To sign and ratify such a document, it is necessary  to change the Constitution of Armenia and cancel the decision of the  Supreme Council. Secondly, no one has such a right. Having a majority  in elections does not mean getting the right to make arbitrary  decisions on the existence of the Armenian people. Thirdly, the  people of Artsakh, whose physical existence is at stake, were the  main bearer of the hardships and sufferings of the past decades and  did not give anyone the authority to decide their fate. Fourthly, in  the program of the Pashinyan government on Nagorno-Karabakh approved  by the National Assembly of Armenia, there is a provision according  to which the realization of the right of the people of Artsakh to  self- determination should be carried out on the basis of the  principle of "remedial secession", to which the people of Artsakh  have an undoubted right," Oskanian noted.

He also stressed that if Armenia, the Armenian people, Artsakh ever  forcibly or voluntarily renounce their inalienable right to  self-determination and recognize the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over  Artsakh, then it will become a precedent in the world, which will  degrade and humiliate Armenia's reputation. "It is also sad that of  the more than four dozen popular movements for self-determination  that exist today, the Artsakh movement for self-determination has the  most solid historical, legal and political foundations. Historically,  the people of Artsakh lived and survived in this area for thousands  of years. Moreover, Artsakh is the most Armenian-populated of the  Armenian-populated regions of our two states. Throughout history,  when Armenia has been under different dominions, Artsakh has always  maintained at least a semi-independent status. Legally, the  foundations of Artsakh's right to self-determination are simply  invulnerable. The basic prerequisites for asserting the right to  self-determination have been fully respected in the past and today.   Politically, Artsakh has a history of more than three decades of  negotiations, during which at some point the international community,  through the mediators, considered the free and unhindered expression  of the will of the Artsakh people as the best way to peacefully  resolve the problem. I remain convinced that we have not exhausted  the diplomatic possibilities and that today there are serious  pro-Armenian alternatives to what the Armenian authorities are doing.  After the 44-day war, Armenian diplomacy made almost no serious  efforts to achieve a pro-Armenian result. The outcome of any  negotiations should at least improve relations between the parties.  The path chosen by the Armenian authorities cannot satisfy this  condition.  Perhaps the signing of such a document will establish  friendly ties between the current authorities and Azerbaijan, but  certainly cannot serve as the basis of friendship between the state  of Armenia, the Armenian people and Azerbaijan>, Vartan Oskanian  emphasized.