In an interview with Tert.am, the vice speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly shared his comments on first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s recent speech, focusing, among other things, on his evaluations of the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.
Eduard Sharmazanov was critical particularly of the remark that the resolution of the long-lasting Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict could pave way to the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border.
“My question is whether it is in our interests to settle the Karabakh issue at any possible price … We are against the scenario of reaching a solution at any price. What we resolutely support is a pro-Armenian solution stemming from the unconditional exercise of the Nagorno-Karabakh people’s right to self-determination. That can, logically, be [achieved] through mutual concessions. We are not making super-, ultra-populist and patriotic calls … We understand that in any case, we have to agree to mutual concessions – for which we are practically ready. What we need to ask the first president, however, is ‘what do you think [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev’s mutual concession is at the moment? Or is [what you say] a concession?”
Sharmazanov said he is somewhat surprised that the first president did not speak of Azerbaijan’s policy of aggression in his address to blame the country’s politico-military leadership for the continuing efforts towards torpedoing the peace talks.
But he fully agreed to the president’s remark on Azerbaijan’s inevitable defeat in case of a renewed war. “It wasn’t a rational judgment; what else could he have possibly said? That Armenia will be a loser should Azerbaijan unleash a war? Any statement of the kind by any [political] figure in Armenia would mark that person’s political suicide. Ter-Petrosyan is smart enough to avoid such a statement,” he added.
