ANC: Artsakh was destroyed by Pashinyan`s decision

ArmInfo. The significance of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan is apparently not fully understood. Pashinyan and  his lawyers justify this recognition by citing Russian President  Vladimir Putin's recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan before  him. Levon Zurabyan, a candidate for Prime Minister from the Armenian  National Congress party, wrote on his Facebook page.

Those who make such statements are assuming that people outside of  politics do not understand the y principles of conflict resolution  diplomacy. It is worth noting, that not only Putin, but also former  Russian President Yeltsin, US Presidents Clinton, Bush, as well as  leaders from France, Iran, and China, all recognized Nagorno-Karabakh  as part of Azerbaijan following the collapse of the USSR and  repeatedly stated this. However, the crucial point is that until the  parties to the conflict (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh  from 1994 to 1999, and since 1999, after Nagorno-Karabakh was  excluded from negotiations, Armenia and Azerbaijan) come to an  agreement on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, the world continued to  view the situation as an unresolved conflict over the final status of  Nagorno-Karabakh that needed to be addressed through peace talks  under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. Moreover, the co-chairs  of the Minsk Group-the United States, France, and Russia-presented  proposals for a peaceful resolution during negotiations. If these  agreements had been implemented, the status of Nagorno-Karabakh would  have remained in limbo, allowing Artsakh to achieve de facto  independence under the established peace terms," the politician  emphasized.

He added that this opportunity was ultimately squandered by Nikol  Pashinyan, who recognized Nagorno- Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in  2022. "Pashinyan is essentially right in saying that he closed the  Karabakh movement, and that is exactly what he did with his decision  in 2022. With the decision to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of  Azerbaijan, the conflict based on disagreements over the status of  Nagorno-Karabakh formally ended, since the recognized parties to the  conflict - Armenia and Azerbaijan - reached an agreement. From that  moment on, the Republic of Artsakh became an "illegal separatist  entity" from the perspective of international law, giving Azerbaijan  all the rights for its destruction. Neither Russia, whose  peacekeepers, by the way, lacked a mandate to open fire, nor any  other country or international organization had the right to impede  Azerbaijan's "anti-terrorist operation", as evidenced by the  unproductive discussions in the UN Security Council. Azerbaijan could  not afford to miss the opportunity it had created: had it hesitated,  the existence of the Republic of Artsakh would have once again been  legitimized as a reality on the ground. Yes, Azerbaijan carried out  the genocidal deportation of Armenians from Artsakh, but Nikol  Pashinyan ensured the impunity of this action and the absence of any  international repercussions. Thus, Artsakh was destroyed due to  Pashinyan's decision, and this guilt will forever remain on his  conscience. The reasons behind these actions are a topic for another  publication,"  Levon Zurabyan wrote.