Not an inch of land to be ceded – Armenian MP

The diplomatic process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is stalemated, Armenian MP Tevan Poghosyan told reporters of Friday.

“The agreements reached in Vienna are not being implemented. Agreements to build up confidence are not being implemented. The Line of Contact is not being monitored nor are investigative mechanisms being applied. Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh] is re-enforcing the line of contact by itself to fill the gaps that were noticed during the April escalation,” Mr Poghosyan said.

Polls conducted in Nagorno-Karabakh show that people are not prepared for concessions.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will remain unsettled as long as Nagorno-Karabakh it outside the negotiating process.

“They can negotiate different documents, but a final settlement can only be reached after
Artsakh representatives sit down at the negotiating table,” Mr Poghosyan said.

Nagorno-Karabakh should also be prepared for a military settlement of the conflict because of Azerbaijan, so it must have a powerful army and ensure all the necessary conditions for the army.

As regards the opinions that territorial concessions could be a means of settling the conflict, Mr Poghosyan said that no territories will be returned.

“I have just come back from Artsakh. What I see inspires confidence that the people are not going to cede lands. I understand that some people are raising the issue for patriotic reasons, others are seeking to cash in on such issues, but such talks can be of no benefit to the people who are working and guarding the border. Not an inch of land will be ceded. I would advise you to go to Artsakh and feel the sentiments there it is a matter of generations to last for a long period. We are most likely to come to realize that we can talk to our enemy only after Azerbaijan throws away history books and writes its real history. We must realize that what our grandfathers agreed to in the 1920s was not the decision they would have wanted us to inherit. Let us not hurry to shoulder such a burden.”

Time will come when no serious negotiations will be conducted.

“The US is awaiting elections, and Armenia is waiting local elections t be followed by parliamentary elections,” the MP said.

In commenting on the Nagorno-Karabakh presidential spokesman’s statement that ruled out any unilateral concessions, Mr Poghosyan said that he is a diplomat.

“He meant that actions would not be unilateral.”