STEPANAKERT (De Facto)-Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakian said in a recent interview with Polish Rech Pospolita newspaper that Russia and other CIS countries should be the first to recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
Since its declaration of independence in 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has developed a democratic state with vibrant civil institutions, Sahakian explained.
"We hope that the international community will soon appreciate our efforts and recognize our independence," he said, referring to Kosavar independence as a solid precedent for Karabakh.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly voiced its opposition to Karabakh independence, using the international principle of territorial integrity as a basis for its claims to the mountainous Armenian republic. But there is no other viable option, other than independence, Sahakian stressed. Azerbaijan’s statemen’s that Karabakh can be granted wide autonomy within Azerbaijan ignore reality and the principles of a peoples’ right to self-determination.
A new generation has come of age in an independent Karabakh, Sahakian said, adding that, the harsh experience of living under Azerbaijani rule is completely foreign to this generation.
