Azernews.Az

Former foreign minister claims Garabagh conflict settled
Baku, AssA-Irada, January 5, 2010
Some Armenian politicians believe that the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh has been settled disregarding the country’s interests.
Former foreign minister Vardan Oskanian says an opinion currently prevails in Europe that the issue of returning the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories has already been resolved, and European countries are now expecting further steps to be taken.
"Unfortunately, the issue of returning land to Azerbaijan is considered solved in Europe. Therefore, they are now expecting certain advances toward reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border," Oskanian told the local press.
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent districts, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war.
Commenting on the policy of the incumbent Armenian leaders, the former minister said President Serzh Sarkisian’s government is pursuing a policy that is drastically different from that of the former president Robert Kocharian’s administration.
"The current policy of the government is 180 degrees different from the previous regime’s policy. In my view, all of Armenia’s problems are linked to monopolies. If we don’t come up with an alternative, we won’t be able to solve a single problem. We have altered the Constitution to restore balance and create an alternative, but the Sarkisian regime seized power."
Oskanian’s views are shared by most Armenian opposition parties. The scale of public protests being planned in the capital Yerevan indicates that the Sarkisian administration is facing a difficult situation. The opposition Armenian National Congress plans a large-scale rally on Friday, which will be followed by a march that will end with an address by its leader, former president Levon Ter-Petrosian.
Further, crowds will take to the streets of Yerevan next Monday. Activists of 14 political parties will join the rally, according to the nationalist Dashnaksutyun Party. The nationalists will protest at the signing in the fall of 2009 of an accord on normalizing Armenia’s strained relations with Turkey.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court is scheduled to review the protocols on January 12.
Turkey and Armenia have faced hostility for decades. Turkey closed its border with the South Caucasus republic in 1993 due to Armenian occupation of a part of Azerbaijan’s territory and claims on the World War I-era "genocide." On October 10, in Zurich, the two governments signed two protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders, in a bid to normalize their strained relations. However, Turkish officials have pledged that the border will not open until the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has been fairly settled.*