Security of Karabakhi People may be Provided only out of the Borders of Azerbaijan: Serzh Sargsyan

“Recognition of Genocide doesn’t have a Christian nuance, the Genocide was recognized not only by individuals and states professing Christianity, here it doesn’t refer a Christian, but a humanist, a person, who condemns that crime committed against humanity. Of course, in certain cases, in certain issues our neighbors attempt to transfer religious nuance to those issues, depending on the audience,” Serzh Sargsyan, RA president, told in an interview with the Arabic “Al Mayadeen” TV, bringing examples how our neighboring countries are making use of religious factor,

“Firstly, neither one, committing genocide, nor the one against whom it’s implemented, I think, comes from religious beliefs. I don’t think, that in the Ottoman Empire suffered only Christians or only Armenians. Secondly, Azerbaijan attempts to transfer NKR a religious nuance as well, which has nothing to do with the reality, i.e. when the audience is Islamic, Muslim, then they attempt to provide this shade. When the audience is European, they already speak of territorial integrity. However, nothing could have been thought, at least regarding Armenians, that Armenians are deprived of the ideas of coexistence. Today we are in brilliant relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, we have brilliant relations with numerous Arabic countries, and if rules of coexistence aren’t high rules for us, then what sense does this make? We know rules of coexistence very well and here we simply don’t agree with the authorities of Turkey: there is no any religious issue here. Maybe they are led by these rules, however, we aren’t governed by these rules.”

The president noticed that in 1988, when he was working in Stepanakert then, they went out to the streets with a protest and pronounced consolidation, “Thus, our intention was to join our Mother Armenia. However, connected with the collapse of the Soviet Union, out of the demand to be concrete legally, referendum was held in Karabakh, by the agenda of self-determination and becoming an independent state.

Surely, first and foremost, the will is those of living in NKR, in which status they’d like to live: be an independent state or join to the Republic of Armenia? The most important for me is that security of NKR population was provided, so that they had the possibility to live in their historical fatherland as long as the world will exist, as they have lived in their historical fatherland for millennia. And that security may only be provided out of the borders of Azerbaijan. There is no any doubt that upon some mean joke Karabakh will appear within the borders of Azerbaijan, not a single Armenian will remain in Karabakh.

Thus, the most important is that NKR wasn’t included in the borders of Azerbaijan. Thus, we agree that NKR people decided their final status for themselves. Like it happens in the whole world. If that right wasn’t respected, if that right wasn’t among the most fundamental rights, maybe today UNO would comprise 50-70 countries, and countries, which were becoming independent throughout decades, wouldn’t become UN members. The same Azerbaijan wouldn’t be an independent country now, the same Armenia wouldn’t be an independent country, as Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani authorities should realize that it’s impossible to keep those people within its borders in any way.”