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.