Artsakh’s self-determination ‘done deal’ – politician calls for international recognition efforts

The self-determination of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) should not be subject to any discussion at the moment, with the entire peace process over the past year being part of Azerbaijan’s proactive policies, the leader of the National Agenda party said yesterday, calling for future efforts towards stepping up the country’s international recognition.

In an interview with Tert.am, Ara Hakobyan warned against further attempts to raise the self-determination issue, which he said "was resolved long ago to pave way to future processes".

He noted that the developments over the past year caused Azerbaijan to eventually voice  a specific position in Bratislava (Slovakia) in an effort to annul the achievements of the Artsakh war and the outcomes of the Armenian side’s victory.

“[The ministerial summit] made clear that the negotiations over the past year were conducted as part of Azerbaijan’s proactive policies, so to speak, to enable them to push their position into circulation to head to negotiations afterwards,” he said.

Questioning the implications behind the negotiation package, the expert also shared his comments upon the Armenian prime minister’s call for reaching a solution “acceptable to all the three peoples”.  He noted that the Baku authorities essentially benefited from the statement to advance the thesis of “the Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh”. “But this is what they are saying. In our deepest conviction, however, there isn’t a ‘third people’. There are three  parties but two peoples – the Armenian and the Azerbaijanis, whereas Azerbaijan now is representing the communities as a third side, discussing the possibility of their contacts and arrrangements over the future of Karabakh. That is two say, the Republic of Artsakh, as a subject, was prractically ousted from the negotiations,” he warned.

Noting that Nagorno-Karabakh should pursue the negotiations with Armenia and Azerbaijan as a accomplished, self-determined state, the poltiician said any attempt to deprive it of a subject’s status would mean “playing into the hands of the Azerbaijani authorities”.  

“We are proposing debates between the two communities, and this is practically what the representatives of our authorities are speaking about in essence. It is logically a clause enshrined in the package, marking a heavy regress with heavy condequences indeed. And it poses real hazards, with Artsakh’s right to self-determination not being considered at all. That question is a done deal; our problem now has to do with the recognition of Artsakh. If our statements sound different now, then we are saying that there has been neither a war nor a victory,” Hakobyan added.