Armenians dissatisfied with European Council president's visit
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The recent visit of President of the European Council Donald Tusk to Yerevan and his meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan drove the Armenian society into hysterics.
Representatives of occupied Nagorno-Karabakh nervously reacted to Tusk’s statement on the EU support to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
Some media reproach Pashinyan for the dialogue with an official, who recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and does not say anything about the "right to self-determination".
After the meeting in the Armenian government, Tusk made a statement regarding the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, practically repeating what was said in Baku. He noted that the conflict has no military solution, and here a political solution is needed that will be consistent with international law and principles.
Meanwhile, Tusk did not say anything incredible. A resolution was adopted, marking for the first time Europe’s full support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, along with the inviolability of the borders of other countries at the 28th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Luxembourg on July 8.
The document notes that the OSCE PA recommends intensification of results-oriented discussions within the agreed formats in the field of conflict resolution, and calls on parties to conflicts to enter into negotiations in good faith, without preconditions, with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and lasting peace with full respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the internationally recognized borders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
Such a formulation angered Armenia, who keeps under occupation 20 percent of the neighboring country for more than two decades. The Armenian delegation at the session tried to prevent the adoption of this resolution. They tried to convince the European parliamentarians that the conflicts in different countries are incomparable and the Armenian separatists have more rights. Armenians demanded to delete Azerbaijan from the list of countries whose territorial integrity is supported by the OSCE. However, this proposal was rejected by an absolute majority (41 against and only six for).
The just resolution of the OSCE PA, as well as the statement of Tusk, made Armenian politicians and experts nervous. In Yerevan, the former statements of the co-chairs are sadly recalled, where the main statement was the "will" of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh. So, it’s high time for Armenia to understand the current realities and abandon their ill rhetoric.