RA AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: PEOPLE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH TO HAVE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION

The future of Kosovo has indeed been a subject of very open and public discussions lately, with important statements by U.S. government officials. No matter to what extent the Administration favors the principle of full sovereignty of Kosovo, they find that the final status must be a result of negotiation process, RA Ambassador to the U.S Tatul Margarian stated in an interview with Armenpress news agency. “We understand the international community is not ready to shoulder entire responsibility and suggest a universal solution to all those cases or to impose ready-made solutions to Kosovo or other cases. However, the international community could have been more vigorous in supporting democracy and economic developments in these regions. The argument that economic isolation will make conflicting parties more malleable or eager to compromise is a wrong stereotype. On the contrary, imposed isolation and economic scarcity can contribute to ethnocentrism and make a conflicting party less inclined to compromise. It is encouraging that the United States and European Union have already worked to promote democratic values and economic freedom in Kosovo, which will inevitably contribute to a durable and sustainable settlement in whatever final form it comes. The people of Karabakh have already pursued the right choices on their own, exerting hard effort toward democratic consolidation and economic development. The recent parliamentary elections there showed the determination to adhere to democratic principles, and this deserves encouragement and appreciation of the international community. The independence of Kosovo will, of course, have an impact on settlement of conflicts in other parts of the world. However, the concerns by some within the international community that recognition of Kosovo’s sovereignty may set a precedent necessitating the same status everywhere are exaggerated since each case will be judged on its own merits. After all, there have been several examples of application of the right to self-determination, in one form or another, both by conflicting parties and by the international community to prevent or to settle existing conflicts. In the previous decade alone, this right has been exercised, irrespective of the outcome, in the cases of East Timor, Northern Ireland, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Southern Sudan, Serbia and Montenegro, and elsewhere. As far as Nagorno-Karabakh is concerned, its distinction from other conflicts in Eurasia is readily acknowledged by the international community. I am convinced, and it is widely shared, that any solution to the conflict will be based on the fact and the right of self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is the core and the final settlement must take it into account”, he said.