Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – Former Armenian president, opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian has said that "if it goes on like this, the authorities will surrender Nagorno Karabakh", referring to the Armenia-occupied region of Azerbaijan.

"Our nation, our state, Karabakh are going into the abyss. Our job is to prevent this from happening…I am asking, whoever can help out, let them go ahead," he told Radio Liberty.

Ter-Petrosian has already leveled such terse allegations in the past. He said in July that President Serzh Sargsyan is trying to secure neither the environment of military action nor peace, adding that this "poses the threat of another war with Azerbaijan".

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, this "independence" has not been recognized by the world community.

Ter-Petrosian had said that until a peace accord is signed with Azerbaijan, Armenia’s security will remain under threat.

The statement then drew fire from the ruling Republic Party’s representatives. Officials charged that the opposition leader, who was Armenia’s president from 1991-98, is now trying to achieve a solution of the Karabakh problem favoring Azerbaijan.

This article is published under a project of the Foundation for State Assistance to the