ARF-D accepts three provisions of Madrid Principles - Giro Manoyan

Armenian Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) accepts the three key provisions of the Madrid Principles – equal rights for nations, the right to self-determination, and the territorial integrity, says Giro Manoyan, the head of the ARF-D Bureau's Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office.

“These principles are acceptable because what is termed as territorial integrity does not apply to the borders of the Soviet Azerbaijani Republic,” he told journalists on Friday.

“All the rest are not principles. They are just steps the mediators think of, relying on the principles. They are not acceptable to us since they ignore the fact that the people of Nagorno Karabakh Republic have expressed their will twice, by participating in referenda in 1991 and 2006. And their will is to live independently of Azerbaijan,” the politician stressed, adding that Azerbaijan actually suffered a defeat in the war triggered by itself.

“We are not currently facing any problem in terms of compensating Azerbaijan, as those territories are Armenian, likewise any other territory specified by the mediators. Most importantly, ceding those lands will create security threats for both Karabakh and Armenia,” he said.

The speaker also emphasized the importance of Karabakh’s participating in talks, considering it as the only means for achieving fair resolution of conflict and sustainable peace.