NEW FORMAT?: KARABAKH STRIVING TO BECOME A PARTY TO TALKS
Georgy Petrosyan
Naira Hayrumyan

Photolure
06.07.11
Karabakh

ArmeniaNow correspondent

During its 31st general meeting in the Armenian resort town of
Tsakhkadzor, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)
elected Karabakh Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosyan to its Bureau,
the supreme body of the party. The press linked this move to upcoming
changes in the negotiating process on the Karabakh conflict, in
particular, Karabakh’s upcoming participation in the negotiations.

Petrosyan has been in his current capacity for already five years.

Since 1998, when Robert Kocharyan, elected Karabakh’s president in
1995, became president of Armenia, Karabakh ceased to be a direct
participant in the negotiation process, which is now taking place
between Armenia and Azerbaijan with the mediation of the United States,
France and Russia.

During Kocharyan’s decade-long presidency in Armenia Karabakh hardly
ever spoke about its participation in the negotiations, fully
“trusting” Armenia. But at some point analysts and experts began
to notice with dismay that Armenia’s supplanting Karabakh in the
negotiations means changing the very essence of the conflict. While
earlier negotiations between Karabakh and Azerbaijan were about the
self-determination of Karabakh, then with Armenia acting as the chief
party to talks, in fact, corroborated the position of Azerbaijan that
insists that Armenia has occupied Karabakh.

“Before every meeting [talks on Karabakh] we hope that the parties will
come to agreement, due to which Artsakh will continue to participate
in the negotiating process. At the moment we are satisfied to some
extent, especially with regard to the fact that the OSCE Minsk Group
in its statements note that the final settlement will be impossible
without the participation of the Republic of Artsakh. And we had
expected the latest meeting to produce more clear arrangements exactly
in regards to Artsakh’s participation in the negotiating process,”
Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan said on Tuesday in an exclusive
interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Karabakh’s participation implies a change in its foreign-policy
behavior. During the last few years Karabakh has conducted a passive,
latent foreign policy, which was regarded by many as the absence
of policies as such and complete submission to the Armenian Foreign
Ministry. The restoration of a full format of the negotiations involves
activation of Karabakh’s foreign policy, the change of its leaders,
the emergence of new negotiators. Petrosyan, despite the fact that
he was in the epicenter of events from the very first day of the
Karabakh movement, by virtue of his membership in ARF Dashnaktsutyun,
which rejects the Madrid principles as the basis for negotiations,
cannot fulfill this role.

It can only be speculated now as to who will come to replace him. Some
media have already made assumptions for a possible candidate for the
position – the NKR’s ex-president, currently the Armenian president’s
special envoy Arkady Ghukasyan. But the decision may be the most
unexpected. One thing is clear: not only the format of negotiations,
but also the position of the Armenian side will change. Welcoming
the efforts of the mediators, Karabakh today states, in contrast
to Armenia, about the unacceptability of certain provisions of the
Madrid principles. And the participation of Karabakh is likely to
lead to adjustments of these principles and strengthening of Armenian
positions.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress