COMPROMISE WHICH DOES NOT ENDANGER SECURITY?
KarabakhOpen
13-03-2007 14:49:11
We have tried to go to an international court for a few times
but the legal and historical aspects of the issue do not interest
anyone. Everyone insists on a political settlement, which requires
a compromise, NKR President Arkady Ghukasyan said in answering the
question of a student of Artsakh State University.
"We often hear statements that the settlement of the Karabakh
issue should be based on a compromise. It is not clear to me what
compromise on behalf of the Armenian side is meant. I think we already
made a compromise on May 12, 1994. We still have to liberate North
Artsakh. What more are we going to cede?"
asked Hovik Badasyan, a student of Artsakh State University.
"I am glad that our youth thinks so – that we have nothing to
cede. But I wish we were a strong state and did not care what
others think. From the point of view of history, I agree that we
have lost much and we have the right to bring it back. However,
we will hardly become so strong in the nearest future to oppose
to the international community. In reality we are a small country
surrounded by hostile states and isolated, and we cannot afford such
a standpoint. Unfortunately, the international community does not
accept our truth.
We are told that we must make a compromise not because we are not
right but because otherwise a new war will ignite, and Armenia and
Karabakh may be left out of regional projects. They say Azerbaijan
has oil and gas, it can grow stronger and wage a war. Therefore,
our goal is to prevent the resumption of the war.
As to the compromise, they are not related to the principal issues. We
will never give away our independence, because otherwise everything
will become meaningless. We know what we can give away and what we
cannot give away. We must acknowledge one thing – we cannot be at
war for a hundred years, it is necessary to establish peace, and this
is the aim we pursue. I think we must not perceive the Azerbaijanis
as our eternal foes and we do not want the Azerbaijanis to perceive
us similarly. We need to persuade them to leave Karabakh alone, that
Karabakh won its right for independence, that it can be self-sufficient
and build a democratic state.
No international expert will argue if Karabakh is part of historical
Armenia or Azerbaijan. We have tried to go to the international court
for a number of times but nobody cares for the legal and historical
aspects of the issue.
Everyone insists on the political decision, which requires a
compromise. And it is acceptable if we are ready to give something
without endangering our independence and security," Arkady Ghukasyan
said.