Oskanian to Pashinyan: You have neither moral nor legal grounds to ignore Artsakh issue

ArmInfo. I suggested to the  current government of Armenia not to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict in three months, but to change the negotiation logic in  negotiations with Azerbaijan, to make it pro-Armenian. Former  Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Vartan Oskanian stated in his  video address, referring to the statements of the current authorities  of the Republic of Armenia that he had 10 years to resolve the  conflict, however, he did not.

"I will continue to talk about my proposal to the Armenian  authorities to make a breakthrough in the Armenian-Azerbaijani  negotiations. I would like to respond to the criticism that began to  be heard after the proposals I made to the authorities.

It concerns the fact that if Oskanian could resolve this issue for  three months, then why didn't he do it in 10 years of being the head  of the Armenian Foreign Ministry. My proposal was not about resolving  the conflict. I proposed to make a change in the negotiation logic in  a short time, expand its agenda, change the logic and make  pro-Armenian proposals, which exactly what I did when I was in  office," emphasized Oskanian.  He recalled that when he was at the  head of the Foreign Ministry, he managed to change the narrative in  the negotiation process, moving from the Lisbon logic, where more  than 50 OSCE countries stated in 1996 that the Karabakh issue should  be resolved in the logic of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,   to the declaration by the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group  that the final and best way to settle the conflict should be based on  the right of self-determination of the people of Artsakh.

"In a word, the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination  was fixed in the final document. Thus, the narrative of the  negotiations was changed, which was maintained until the third  President of the Republic of Armenia came to power," he stressed,  adding that the current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan,  made all these achievements null and void with his incompetence.   "And now, thanks to Pashinyan's actions, everyone began to consider  Artsakh as Azerbaijani. However, I continue to argue that this  narrative can be changed if Pashinyan has such a desire," the  diplomat said.  At the same time, Oskanian stressed that he is not  opposed to Pashinyan's foreign policy, since its alignment is his  prerogative.

"But the Nagorno-Karabakh issue goes far beyond the scope of foreign  policy, it is not a foreign policy issue at all. This is a national,  existential issue for our people. You give Artsakh to Azerbaijan, you  surrender your Motherland, our historical lands. You cannot ignore  this issue, ignore advice. You have no moral or legal reason to  ignore this issue.

More than 90% of the population of Armenia is against Artsakh joining  Azerbaijan in any status, so you have no moral right to sign such a  document. By signing this document, you will ignore the decision of  the Supreme Council of 1991, which is contrary to the Constitution.  This is also contrary to the provisions of your government's  five-year plan. You explain this signing by the fact that you have no  alternative, you are allegedly saving Armenia. Therefore, when you  are told that there is an alternative, you should listen and try to  solve this problem together," Oskanian said.

On the eve of the Pashinyan-Aliyev-Mishel trilateral meeting planned  in Brussels, Oskanian made a very specific proposal to Pashinyan.  According to him, there is an opportunity to change the negotiating  logic in Brussels.

"Before leaving for Brussels, you can make a statement or at the very  beginning of negotiations, say the following: "Despite the fact that  in Prague I signed a statement recognizing the territorial integrity  of Azerbaijan, including Artsakh, with reference to the Alma-Ata  Declaration, and also taking into account the fact that the  declaration is a multilateral document, and not an agreement between  the two countries, the factor of recognition of territorial integrity  contained in the declaration cannot serve as a solid basis for  believing that Armenia has already recognized the territorial  integrity of Azerbaijan, including Artsakh." Further, you can state:  "I adhere to the same point of view that I am ready to recognize the  territorial integrity of Azerbaijan if the negotiations are held in  such a way that the basis for a just and lasting peace between our  two peoples will be created. Therefore, I propose to include this  fact in our negotiation agenda that Artsakh had the status of an  autonomous region during the Soviet period. I propose to include this  circumstance as well."

Charles Michel, as a former prime minister of a country (Belgium), in  which the entire state structure is based on the equality of  different communities, will understand this very well. Putting  forward this agenda will significantly change the negotiating logic  and be more pro-Armenian, and today's agenda cannot lead to anything  good. You have a chance to change this agenda," the former Armenian  Foreign Minister added.