Former FM insists on Artsakh’s right to self-determination

Armenia’s former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has warned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government against signing a peace treaty with Baku that would force Artsakh under Azerbaijan, claiming it would not establish peace in the region.

“The signing of such a document will result in the complete dissolution of Artsakh,” he said in a Facebook video on Saturday.

He states the calls of dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert are aimed at “throwing dust in the eyes of the Artsakh people”.

“Currently, there are more than 50 movements for self-determination in the world. Some of them emerged 50-100 years ago, while others were launched in the not-too-distant past. But, all of these processes continue today. No people has given up this right. We, Armenians, will be the first in the world to give up the right to self-determination,” Oskanian says.

He claims a peace deal could help establish good relations between Pashinyan’s government and Azerbaijani leadership, but not between the Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples.

“If Pashinyan signs this document, Armenia will enter a long cycle of deep instability which will be very difficult to cope with,” the former minister said.