Astana statement was a 'retreat' for Armenia, says opposition spokesman

Armenia retreated once again by signing the statement adopted at the OSCE Summit in Astana, Vladimir Karapetyan of the opposition alliance Armenian National Congress, told a news conference today.

He said that with that statement, Armenia gave what he called a "green light" not only to accepting the term "occupied territories" but also agreed to the principles stipulated in the statements adopted in L'Aquila and Muskoka.

Neither of these documents states that the principle of peoples' right to self-determination will be exercised by the Karabakh people, he added.

"The L'Aquila, Meindorf, Muskoka and Astrakhan statements call on the parties to avoid bellicose statements and settle the conflict without the use of force. But what did we gain [from that]?" asked Karapetyan.

"Backed by the international community, as well as having proven facts that Azerbaijan has constantly violated the ceasefire accord especially since June - very often resulting in deaths - we did not succeed in having the international community give a relevant assessment to Azerbaijan."

Karapetyan also said that Armenia has strong positions but fails to use them, while Azerbaijan secured wording in several documents that is in its favor, such as "return of the occupied territories" and "the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should be settled within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity."

Further, he said that it is ridiculous that the representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia point to the UN Charter while speaking about the Astana statement which makes a reference to the UN Charter.

"Really, the UN Charter puts a special accent on the right to self-determination and creates opportunities to push it ahead. But I don't think we can benefit from it," said Karapetyan.