Artsakh President, Parliament and State Minister Voice Outrage at Pashinyan’s Claims
The leadership of Artsakh, including its parliament, voiced outrage at remarks made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who on Friday called into question Artsakh’s independence, prompting Stepanakert officials to firmly protest statements that can jeopardize the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh.
Since the beginning of the Karabakh Liberation Movement in 1988 there has not been such a standoff between the authorities of Artsakh and Armenia, with Pashinyan on Monday again doubling down on the assertions he made during a virtual press conference on Friday.
In his ongoing efforts of to deflect blame for the debilitating defeat of last year’s war, Pashinyan on Friday again blamed Armenia’s previous leaders for what he called mishandling of the negotiations. He also criticized the OSCE Minsk Group co-charing countries—the United States, Russia and France—for putting forth proposals in 2016 that he claimed diminished Artsakh’s status as an Armenian settlement and envisioned the restoration of control by Azerbaijan over Artsakh.
Furthermore, Pashinyan reiterated an earlier statement that a final status of Karabakh does not necessarily stipulate its independence, saying that the Minsk Group Co-chairs’ proposals “Artsakh could not have ended up being completely Armenian.”
“It was obvious during those negotiations that Artsakh is going to have both Armenian and Azerbaijani populations,” Pashinyan said.
These statements have prompted Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan to issue a statement, which was echoed in more blatant terms by an unanimous decision of the Artsakh Parliament on Monday.
The complete recognition of the right of the Armenians of Artsakh to self-determination cannot be doubted or conceded, President Harutyunyan said, adding that only Artsakh Republic leaders are authorized to speak on behalf of the people of Artsakh.
“The goal of the international recognition of Artsakh Republic’s Independence is our main objective, from which no government can afford to deviate. Therefore, the people and the authorities of Artsakh will never and in no way accept any status within Azerbaijan until our goal is achieved,” Harutyunyan said.
He added that there can be no return to the past, not only in terms of status, but also in terms of demographics.
“What kind of coexistence can we talk about, if Azerbaijan continues to feed its society with Armenophobia, to prepare it not for peace but for eviction of Armenians from Artsakh?” asked Harutyunyan. “Of course, we are in favor of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, we are ready to make efforts in that direction, but the vital rights, interests and demands of our people are not negotiable.”
“The territorial integrity of the Artsakh Republic must be restored at least in the territories where the Republic of Artsakh was proclaimed in 1991. Therefore, our occupied territories must be de-occupied; our compatriots must be able to return to their homes,” he added.
“As for the security of Artsakh, we will continue our efforts to strengthen the capabilities of the Defense Army, and the Russian peacekeeping troops must remain in Artsakh permanently and indefinitely until the final and just settlement of the conflict and the provision of additional international security guarantees,” Harutyunyan added.
Without referring to the details of the negotiation process in the past, he stated that “now the moment is much more decisive moment than ever. Therefore, we have no right to make mistakes, otherwise those mistakes can be fatal for Artsakh and Mother Armenia.”
“If any Armenian wants to support Artsakh, they must take into account the will and goals of the Armenians of Artsakh, otherwise they should simply not interfere,” added the Artsakh president.
“All authorities are temporary, but our goals and positions must be maintained firmly and and must be unshakable. Unity around our national values and goals is important, and, as I mentioned, the guiding principle for every Armenian and the government in the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict must be the will and aspirations of the Armenians of Artsakh,” he added.
“Artsakh has been Armenian for thousands of years and will remain Armenian. The Armenians of Artsakh have enough will and strategic patience to continue that struggle. Regardless of anyone’s claims and opinion, I am confident that the Armenians of Artsakh will continue their just struggle for the international recognition of Artsakh’s independence and the defense of the Homeland,” added Harutyunyan.
Artsakh State Minister Artakh Beglaryan took to Facebook to voice his grievance about Pashinyan’s remarks.
“The will and aspirations of the Armenians of Artsakh need to be inviolable and serve as a basis for supporting the homeland for every Armenian. There need to be specific goals, principles and red lines established on the basis of national interests, above any narrow and short-term interests, including the political situation in the country, and this concerns the political forces and figures in Artsakh, Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora, starting from me,” said Beglaryan
“Every Armenian who believes Artsakh needs to remain Armenian, has something to do, and he or she must first and foremost not harm, and must then support,” added Beglaryan.
The Artsakh Parliament on Monday delivered a terse—and unanimous—rebuke to Pashinyan, calling his statements dangerous. Below is the translated text of the statement.
Throughout the history of the Karabakh conflict, statements distorting the essence of the problem are periodically exaggerated, which complicate and confuse the process of a comprehensive and final settlement of the conflict, the parliament said.
We consider it inadmissible any statement by any political force and figure that casts doubt on or belittles the existence of the Republic of Artsakh and its future as an Armenian settlement. It is puzzling that the last such statement was made on December 24 by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, while answering questions from representatives of the media and public organizations.
The fate of Artsakh was not and will not be a monopoly of any political force. Representing the opinion and position of broad public and political circles of the Republic of Artsakh, we express our disagreement and indignation at a number of dangerous and distorted formulations and ideas voiced during the press conference.
Concern is also caused by the fact that against the backdrop of the achievements of the national liberation struggle of 1988—the Karabakh Movement—formulations are being voiced that cast doubt on the very existence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Republic of Artsakh), proclaimed on September 2, 1991 and formed in complete compliance with the norms of international law, as well as its long struggle to achieve international recognition.
The legal and political foundations of the Armenian representatives in the negotiation process in previous years and the protection of our national interests in this context did not enter into any contradiction with the positions of international structures and mediators.
The fact that the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh has never been ignored in the proposals previously submitted by the mediators is confirmed by the explanations of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
Speculations about the working options discussed in the negotiation process over the years and a possible change in the format of the negotiations cause alarm and concern.
We consider unacceptable statements that question Artsakh’s Armenianness and emphasize the importance of the presence of possible external forces, which we reject and condemn, in memory of the thousands of Armenians who sacrificed their lives for the freedom and independence of Artsakh.
While respecting all victims of the Artsakh liberation struggle, we simultaneously express our gratitude to all Armenians, in particular to our compatriots from the Republic of Armenia, for standing with Artsakh and sharing in its suffering and hardships.
The fraternal relations between the two Armenian republics have been based on a resolution adopted on July 8, 1992 by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, which clearly defined the attitude of the Republic of Armenia, as a full member of the international community, to the Republic of Artsakh striving for international recognition. According to this resolution, Armenia undertakes to “consistently support the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and protect the rights of its population,” and it is also established that “any international or domestic document in which the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will be indicated as a part of Azerbaijan is unacceptable for the Republic of Armenia.” This formula is still valid today.
“The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, reaffirming the adherence of the people and the authorities of Artsakh to the sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Artsakh, declares that it is inadmissible to express any position without taking into account the point of view of the authorities of Artsakh, since only the legal authorities formed by the citizens of the Republic of Artsakh through elections have the right to make decisions regarding the future of the Republic of Artsakh.”
No individual or party has the right to decide the fate of Artsakh. Our two republics are equally important. At these difficult times, The two Republics and Diaspora have to stand side by side, strengthening each other, instead of deciding the other’s fate. We cannot loose Artsakh as we cannot loose Armenia. Both are equally important. Armenia has always pledged its support to Artsakh and should continue to do so. I don’t believe any Armenian wants to see another genocide performed on Armenians anywhere, including Artsakh. For that we need to stand by our Both republics and strengthen them, instead of dividing them. In Unity ONLY we can have salvation.
United Nations international law says that there is no such region as Arshak.
Karabag is the region of Azerbaijan.
1993 united nations resolution.
AATEN 44 IN THE WAR, HANKENDI, THE LAST ARMENIAN CASTLE, AZERBAIJAN MILITARY ENTERED, RUSSIA ENTERED IN ORDER TO LET ARMENIAN CIVILIANS GO THERE.
Within 3 years, minority Armenians in and around the Khankendi will be integrated into Azerbaijan, that is, they will become citizens.
The imaginary society of the Armenian people can now understand the realities.
bayram the azerbarani sheep
Take your nonsense and shove it where the sun don’t shine. You said the same thing weeks ago and I put you in your place. You don’t know a damn thing. Your IQ is in the single digits you mentally-handicapped illiterate racist mongol tatar mutt. You sound like a broken record keep repeating your imaginary and stale bull crap you racist idiot. Go lick terrorist Turkey’s mullah and terrorist-in-chief barking dog Er-dog-an’s rear end because without his terrorist acts you are not even worth spitting on. Er-dog-an is your pimp and without your pimp you are nothing but a little insignificant cockroach. We squashed under our feet you little azerbarani cockroaches thirty years ago and for thirty years you remained that same cockroach that you were all along and still are. You don’t have any army without terrorist Turkey. You could not even fight your own fight. You lack manhood and you always did. We took away what little manhood you had thirty years ago and once again you proved you don’t have any manhood by paying others with petrodollars to do the fighting for you. You two-faced hyenas don’t have any dignity for If you had any you would not have pimped out your battles to others. You are a bunch of losers and you will always be losers. I pi$$ on everything you have to say!
Karabağ Ermənistandır!
Azərbaycan Ermənistandır!
Yaşasın Ermənistan!
Azərbaycana ölüm!
You seem to be a waste of oxygen. All so-called “azeri lands” are Iranian and Armenian. You are an artificial creation. Stalin handed over Artsakh to you tatars to appease Turkey. That is it.
you are a complete fascist dog, you bark like a dog from mother America, you brainless idiot, you are crazy about fascism. The defeat of 44 days of war has made you a psychopathic dope. You anca bark, if you are brave, karabag comes to fight, you are cowardly poor.
NE MUTLU TÜRKÜM DİYE
KARABAĞ DAGLARINDA BOZKURTLARA ANANIZI SİKTİ AMA DERS ALMIYOR SUN KORKAKLAR
bayram the azerbarani sheep
You think because I speak several languages, among them English, that I am an American? Listen you mongol tatar dog I am one of those Armenians who are your worst nightmare. You empty talking loud mouth dogs are like an open book to me. There is nothing about your coward rotten characters I don’t already know. For me, taking care of little insignificant barking dogs like you is like running hot knife through bitter. Get back into your cave left-over mongol tatar dog crap!
Siz ruhi xəstə qoyunlarsınız ki, burada olmaq üçün çoban müdiriniz tərəfindən idarə olunan və yaxşı maaş alan qoyun.
bayram the azerbarani sheep
You finally showed your true pseudo-Turkish Azerbarani filthy character. The language you used here deserves a response that sheep like you are worthy of it.
səndə fahişənin balasısan. ananı, bacını, qızını, arvadını və bütün sülaləni və iyrənc qanını sikim sənin qəhbə balasi azərbaran. sizin toxumunuzu kəsəcəyik. hamınızı ölürecük.
Azərbaycan bayrağı sikim!
YAŞASIN ERMƏNİSTAN!
AZƏRBAYCANA ÖLÜM!
Hello Ararat,
Can you find out Bayram Ohlu in this video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKSkeOQp5vQ&list=RDCMUCs7_DmeDzs0C8HkwucWRNTA&start_radio=1&t=96s
Why isn’t the president of Artsakh attending the talks along with Pashinyan? He’s the one who was in the trenches during the war, not Pashinyan. After NATO allowed member nation Turkey to lead the attack against Artsakh, why is Pashinyan still trying to cozy up to NATO? What kind of fool is he. I believe the West was behind the Velvet Revolution in order to weaken the defenses of the Armenians and the attack took place while Trump was still in office knowing that Trump wouldn’t interfere. NATO should be condemned for allowing a member nation of more than 80 million to aid Azerbaijan a nation of 10 million people to gang up on Armenia a nation of less than 4 million people and NATO allowed the slaughter to continue until Putin stepped in. Great Britain and Turkey are still continuing the Crimea War of the 19th. century against Russia. When are we going to wise up.
As a Turkish folk song, I am proud of our army. In 20 years, azerbaijan formed an army from scratch, and armenia fought for 6 years and took back the occupied lands in 44 days.
very well trained azerbaijan special forces and army creation sat .sas commandos burgundy berets .
As an Armenian soldier said, the Azerbaijani special forces were like the angels of death.
And today, the capacity of the Azerbaijani military power is 2 after Russia in the Caucasus. the greatest power.
Cram it where the sun don’t shine, snowflake.
I’d smack you one but it would be called animal abuse around here.
The pseudo-Turkish Azerbabooni comedian bayram the sheep is back yet with another hilarious bull crap he pulled out from his rear end. This is the same army that could not even fly fighter jets and had to have the terrorist Turkish pimps fly it for them. The same army that Ilham Aliyev the gay-in-chief of artificial Azerbaboon started pi$$ing in his pants when he saw the Iranian army at the gates of his Azerbabooni terrorist cesspool. The same army that lost 30,000 soldiers in only 44 days added to the 37,500 lost in 1994 LIBERATION WAR. May “allah” give you more dead gay Azerbabooni soldiers. Enjoy the “alley of gay shehids” we gave you. You will not forget our strength and power on your skins for the next thousand years. 67,000 Azerbabooni families are wearing black now and they can thank our volunteer soldiers for that who humiliated and wiped out this gay Azerbabooni army that had to pimp out the latest war to terrorist Turkey, devil-worshiping fatherless Arab pedophiles, dress-wearing Pakistanis, pimp daddy Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus and the morally-bankrupt greedy Zionist state of Israel.
An army 2nd to Russia? There must be another Russia we don’t know about because the one I know has enough power to wipe out this planet several times over and this sheep is comparing Azerbabooni incompetent gay army to Russia?Keep the jokes coming. We can pi$$ on your army and make it disappear!
ethiopia in africa = armenia
Armenia needs more education and training like a wild horse.
Azerbaijan should train a little more, 44 days of training was not enough
Of the 150 Armenian tanks, only 110 were destroyed. Armenians say destroy all our weapons and soldiers.
Russia, you begged, you didn’t, it begged America, it didn’t beg France, it didn’t beg Iran, it didn’t work
this is turkish land, no one can save armenia
This coming from cowards that hide behind turkey, jihadists, isis, pakistani what evers to do their fighting.
Your a$$ must get jealous of all of the doodoo coming out of your mouth, pretty much.