Karabakh's borders should be clearly defined before its recognition: Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan

Before recognizing Karabakh, it should first of all be clarified what the borders of Karabakh are, former freedom fighter, Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan ("Commandos") has said.

"I can't understand what the borders of the NKR are," he said at a press conference today, adding that he can't see why other countries should recognize Karabakh given Armenia has not done so.

"If they [Armenia] want to recognize Karabakh together with its liberated territories, I am definitely for it. But when one, two or three regions are meant [to be recognized as part of Karabakh], I am not in favor of such recognition," he explained.

Ter-Tadevosyan also said that he does not approve of the move by the parliamentary majority to boycott the proposal by Heritage party to recognize Karabakh.

"Today the ruling forces don't have a clear-cut program over this issue," said he, adding that they make decisions based on the speeches delivered by their leader Serzh Sargsyan, the President of Armenia.

"And he [the president] stated both in Astana and Moscow that Armenia will recognize NKR, should Azerbaijan resort to aggression. May be they are based on that statement?" asked he.

However, he thinks that at this stage the recognition of Karabakh by Armenia may put the talks spearheaded by the OSCE Minsk Group at risk.

"Generally, yes, that may put the process at risk. That will be considered violation of the international norms," Ter-Tadevosyan said, adding that given its complexity, the issue should be dealt with by a group of experts who will propose a few options for a settlement.

The Nagorno Karabakh conflict started in the early 1990s when Karabakhi Armenians voiced their intention to live independently from Azerbaijan.

It was followed by pogroms against Armenians in Sumgait, Baku and Nagorno Karabakh that turned into a bloody war, leaving around 30,000 killed and more than a million displaced.