About international treaties and their irrational interpretation

Today we often face illusions which are incompatible with the general norms of international law, but frequently raise doubts about the sane awareness of the reality of the Armenian political scientists and politicians. Unfortunately, such views are already not striking. However, the interview of Mr.Ara Papyan, head of the Modus Vivendi center of social studies and former ambassador of Armenia to Canada, to Novosti-Armenia and Regnum news agency has stepped beyond the frames of elementary logics.

First of all, the political scientist challenged the Kars treaty of 1921, insisting on the legitimacy of the Sevres treaty of 1920. Ara Papyan motivates his position by saying that the Kars treaty, concluded between the Great National Assembly of Turkey, Soviet Russia and three South Caucasus republics, is invalid, as the parties, signing the treaty, were not the subjects of international law, as he said. Perhaps, Papyan forgot that Turkish Republic, as a party of the Kars treaty, concluded similar agreements with the member-states of the League of Nations and the remaining four participants, being the Union subjects, became the UN founders.

It is unclear, how Mr.Papyan, former high ranking diplomat, can consider valid the Sevres treaty of 1920, which was not only officially annulled by the Losanna peace treaty in 1923, but also signed with participation of Osman Empire and Dashnak Armenia, falling off the list of the subjects of international law already in 1921!

This "innovator" of the international law immediately recalled Woodrow Wilson's map (see below), forgetting, however, that the said map fixed Karabakh and almost the whole Erivan province within Azerbaijan's jurisdiction. It is unclear how Armenia with its external policy based on disputing international agreements, borders and violation of international law, since its gaining independence in 1991, is going to insist on the Wilson map and preserve the territories, which the map fixes within Azerbaijan.

Speaking of illegitimacy of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad and the threat of these transport nets to "the national security of Armenia", the political scientist did not clarify how this "national security" can extend beyond the internationally recognized borders of Armenia for Armenia is not a super-state but the smallest country in the region and also the economic and military outpost of a large regional state.

Mr.Papyan may, certainly, offer to the Turkish government his ambitious idea of renting and joint use of eastern Turkey, but, I think, it will get a worthy response. However, the Armenian political scientist and currently the former diplomat should be reminded that Armenia needs to normalize its relations with neighbor states for its survival, peaceful coexistence and economic development. Such irrational interpretation of international documents do not promote attainment of the said vitally important goal of Armenia.

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/Day.Az/

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