Gorbachev says he sought to grant Garabagh ‘republic’ status
The latest Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has said
he had proposed granting Garabagh, an Azeri region currently under
Armenian occupation, the status of "a republic".
"Then Azerbaijani leader was, I think, Vazirov, he was about to agree, but then it didn’t work," Gorbachev claimed.
Last Friday, a report prepared on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of "perestroika", was presented with the Gorbachev Foundation’s support. The report opines that the Upper Garabagh conflict was one of the causes of the USSR’s collapse in 1991.
Speaking to Radio Liberty’s Armenia service following the presentation, Gorbachev said: "In conflicts like Garabagh, there is no winner, it is necessary to agree. In the late 1980s, there was some way to resolve the Garabagh problem."
Elaborating on his efforts to counter the emergence of the dispute, the former Soviet president said that, in his view, "Garabagh needed assistance, no matter what".
"It should have been granted a status and provided with economic assistance. Everything possible should have been done for them to forge ties with Yerevan."
Gorbachev claimed that a solution of the conflict was somehow possible at the time, but now, Azerbaijan’s regaining control over the region "is hard to imagine."
He believes that if hostilities erupt anew over Garabagh, all international forces could become involved, therefore, this should be prevented by all means.
The Garabagh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 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. Peace talks have brought few tangible results so far.*
"Then Azerbaijani leader was, I think, Vazirov, he was about to agree, but then it didn’t work," Gorbachev claimed.
Last Friday, a report prepared on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of "perestroika", was presented with the Gorbachev Foundation’s support. The report opines that the Upper Garabagh conflict was one of the causes of the USSR’s collapse in 1991.
Speaking to Radio Liberty’s Armenia service following the presentation, Gorbachev said: "In conflicts like Garabagh, there is no winner, it is necessary to agree. In the late 1980s, there was some way to resolve the Garabagh problem."
Elaborating on his efforts to counter the emergence of the dispute, the former Soviet president said that, in his view, "Garabagh needed assistance, no matter what".
"It should have been granted a status and provided with economic assistance. Everything possible should have been done for them to forge ties with Yerevan."
Gorbachev claimed that a solution of the conflict was somehow possible at the time, but now, Azerbaijan’s regaining control over the region "is hard to imagine."
He believes that if hostilities erupt anew over Garabagh, all international forces could become involved, therefore, this should be prevented by all means.
The Garabagh conflict emerged during the last few years of the Soviet Union. 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. Peace talks have brought few tangible results so far.*
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