Serzh Sargsyan: "Turkey has no moral right to blame us
about anything or to impose any conditions."
20-03-2010 18:30:00 | | Politics
PARIS, MART 20, NOYAN TAPAN. Interview of President of
Armenia Serzh Sargsyan for www.euronews.net.
"Serzh Sargsyan is President of Armenia, a country with a
turbulent history, like a fair number of states which for a time
were a part of the old USSR. Early in March on an official visit
to Paris, the president spoke with Euronews about the Armenian
genocide, relations between his country and Turkey, and on the
frozen conflict of Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia is gripped in the
geopolitical vice of the South Caucasus region, where Europe
meets Asia. Its border with Turkey has been blocked since the
Nagorno Karabakh war. The consequences of this for all involved
are serious, including for Armenia's population of three million
and the seven million Armenian diaspora.
Laura Davidescu, Euronews: President Sargsyan, with 23
votes in favour of the resolution and 22 against, the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the United States’ House of Representatives
has decided to declare that the 1915 massacre of over one
million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks was genocide. Why do you
think the committee has voted the resolution now?
President Serzh Sargsyan: Discussions on the recognition of
the Armenian genocide are not new in the political life of the
United States of America. Several times at least in the past 10
years, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of
Representatives has tried to vote on the resolution. Forty-two
states in the US have recognized the events as genocide, so the
resolution on the 4th of March is neither a surprise nor a new
thing for us.
Euronews: Do you think of any particular reason for them
voting it now, in this particular context of Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation?
Sargsyan: We are currently in discussions with Turkey on
the issue of re-establishing our relations. This should be done
without any preconditions, and I think that Turkey has no moral
right to blame us about anything or to impose any conditions.
Re-establishing relations without preconditions means we are not
under any obligations to stay away from any of the possible
topics. Let’s say that, by some miracle, the Turkish Parliament
ratifies the protocols, the Armenian Parliament does the same,
we re-establish our relations and a third country, which is
against us re-establishing our relations, on purpose takes up
the genocide issue. Will the Turks, therefore, use this as a
pretext and break off relations?
Euronews: If Armenia's major problems now are unemployment,
economic isolation and long- running disputes with Turkey and
Azerbaijan, can these problems be more easily solved now?
Sargsyan: Our difficulties with Turkey did not begin
yesterday. For 17 years, Turkey has kept the Armenian border
under blockade. Was there such a resolution 17 years ago? We
fully understand that Turkey is a big country — in terms of
population, territory and power® vastly bigger than Armenia. And
if we lived apart from each other we would [also] understand.
But since Armenia and Turkey are part of the international
community, and the United States, France and the European Union
are too, then the international community must assess the
developments and situations as they unfold.
Euronews: I would go back to the recognition of the
Armenian genocide: If this issue is of paramount concern for
Armenians both at home and in the Diaspora, could you please
tell us why the Yerevan State University awarded an honorary
degree to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2007? The
Iranian president denies the Holocaust.
Sargsyan: You know, we cannot oblige our neighbours to
think as we do. One should not narrow things down to a single
person. To bestow upon the leader of a country an honorific
reward signifies an expression of gratitude and recognition
towards the people of that country. The Iranians have been our
neighbours for centuries and they are very important to us.
Euronews: Would you call the Yerevan state university’s
decision Armenian "realpolitik"?
Sargsyan: I would consider it as a particular approach by
the State University of Yerevan towards a particular issue, an
approach quite current in Europe and in the democratically
developed countries of the world.
Euronews: You are quoted as having said in London, in
February, that Nagorno Karabakh was never a part of independent
Azerbaijan. Well, the international community seems to have
another opinion, another assessment.
Sargsyan: The international community does not have a
different vision. History is well-known Nagorno Karabakh was
not a part of independent Azerbaijan. It was the Caucasus Bureau
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which attached
Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Why did the international
community acclaim the collapse of the Soviet Union and not
consider Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
part and parcel of the Soviet Union? — still saying Karabakh is
an integral part of Azerbaidjan? It is not logical, is it?
Euronews: What kind of compromises are you willing to make
in order to achieve a peaceful resolution of this conflict?
Sargsyan: One cannot eliminate the consequences of this
conflict without addressing its causes. And when speaking about
the causes® we talk about recognising the people of Nagorno
Karabakh’s right of self determination® the recognition of this
right and its implementation. The other problems will be solved
rapidly after that. The Armenian parts of this conflict,
Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, are profoundly interested in a
swift resolution of this conflict. But a sustainable resolution
that would allow for peace and security in the region, as
opposed to giving Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh, which would spell
the end of its existence.
Euronews: Azerbaijan states very clearly that it will never
ever accept Nagorno Karabakh as an independent entity. They will
never let it go.
Sargsyan: What does the international community propose to
us? To solve this conflict on the basis of three principles of
international law: firstly, self-determination; secondly,
territorial integrity; and thirdly, the non-use of force. I
propose, through you, the media, to appeal to Azerbaijan to sign
an agreement not to use force. This would instill trust in the
Armenian people of Karabakh and Armenia. And under these
conditions of trust we would begin the negotiations for a
settlement. We Armenians know very well what Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity means. We’ve talked about it openly
several times. The Azerbaijanis can they say what the right of
self-determination means for the people of Nagorno Karabakh?
When we issue joint declarations about the right of
self-determination, Azerbaijan is not talking about the Armenian
people’s right to self-determination but of the right of the
main player in the conflict the people of Nagorno Karabakh.