Change of power in Armenia can speed up Karabakh conflict settlement

By  Trend

The change of power in Armenia can speed up the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Vahan Martirosyan, Armenian human rights activist, said in Baku Nov. 9.

However, Martirosyan said that the Armenian current authorities will never leave without the coup.

Martirosyan added that providing Nagorno-Karabakh with autonomy is a reasonable decision.

"Nobody is going to evict Armenians,” he said. “Two peoples will be able to coexist peacefully there. It is necessary to immediately return seven districts around Nagorno-Karabakh area to Azerbaijan."

He added that once Robert Kocharyan, Armenian ex-president, said that Azerbaijanis and Armenians are not genetically compatible peoples.

"Yesterday we visited one Armenian family without journalists,” he said. “The members of that family said that they have no problems. Armenian names and surnames are indicated in their documents. Unfortunately, such a case is not observed in Armenia."

The human rights activist added that the representatives of both countries' diasporas abroad - Armenians and Azerbaijanis have already proved to the world that they can peacefully coexist.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.