Agreement with RPA isn’t for thousand years: posture of ARF differs regarding NKR settlement
“The agreement on our cooperation with Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) doesn’t include points on Artsakh issue, that’s why posture of Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) on the whole is the same, difference may be made in accentuations of the statements,” Kiro Manoyan, Head of ARF Armenian Cause Office told 168.am.
The three political parties: Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, ARF and Armenian Democratic Liberal Party West U.S. executive board issued a statement marking the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s Independence, in which they expressed their categorical approach regarding “lands for peace” mutual concession variant of NK conflict settlement and confirmed, that not a single territory of liberated Artsakh may become a subject for concession.
According to K.Manoyan, what happened in the U.S. isn’t only that of ARF, two other national political parties are available as well, thus, the statement doesn’t only reflect ARF’s viewpoint, “RPA expressed its standpoint, which differs from that of ARF, i.e. some steps by the president, the authorities, we have already expressed our standpoint, that we don’t necessarily share those approaches. Thus, there is nothing new in the statement to the sense that they didn’t say something different, and there is no contrast.”
K.Manoyan stressed that they’re the only organization with representations in Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora, and that posture is the same.
“Even in the period of 2005-2006, when Artsakh’s Constitution was being developed, we stated that it’s necessary to explicitly enshrine in the Constitution that actual borders are already legal borders, and it was denied then. It was also reflected in the recent statement, if new constitutional amendments are necessary, that issue should be covered again, within constitutional amendments as well, as today we have Article 142, and it speaks much of the transitional period and doesn’t enshrine, that those territories are legal borders,” he said.
Regarding the fact that ARF’s posture is different and what may occur in case of mutual concessions, and whether it’s possible that the memorandum on RPA—ARF cooperation may be cancelled, K.Manoyan replied, “We haven’t yet reached to that point that the issue is about to settle tomorrow. There are issues to do today linked to Artsakh, and we should focus on it and not attempt to create a situation, which really lacks. Even when the deputy FM states that after April the situation has changed and proposals of the mediators should be changed, it already speaks of the fact that the authorities to some extent are changing their posture and not to the opposite direction.
The agreement with RPA isn’t for thousand years, we should look to the stream of time, however, we haven’t reached to the point that the issue is being settled and difference in those standpoints is a big issue.”
By Ani Keshishyan
