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Nearly two decades since the Regional Council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region [of the former Azerbaijani SSR] and the District Council of the Shahumyan region declared independence, a bill “On the recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” is expected to be discussed at the National Assembly of Armenia early next month.

It is difficult to predict what the discussions expected to commence October 5 will lead to. Armenian lawmakers may again choose to shelve the draft law, but judging from the statements of a number of influential MPs, such a discussion is possible. Galust Sahakyan, who heads the ruling Republican Party’s parliamentary faction, said that Armenia should initiate the process of NKR’s international recognition. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) also speaks about it now. Senior Dashnaktsutyun member Armen Rustamyan stated recently that the party will direct lobbying efforts at [promoting] the recognition of Karabakh’s independence.

(Dashnaktsutyun planned a public event in Armenian capital Yerevan Thursday evening dedicated to Karabakh Independence Day).

In his congratulatory message on the occasion of NKR’s Independence Day, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said: “There can be only one peaceful solution to the Karabakh problem, and that is an international recognition of this state’s independence.”

Talking to ArmeniaNow, Chairman of the NKR Public Council on Foreign Policy and Security Masis Mayilyan hailed the greater appreciation of the need for Karabakh’s international recognition and efforts to provide a new quality to the relations between Armenia and NKR.

In April this year, the Council urged the traditional Armenian political parties and lobbying organizations of the Diaspora to initiate the process of NKR’s international recognition.

“Recognition, as the recent experience in Kosovo, Abkhazia and South Ossetia shows, is a real deterrent and a mechanism to ensure security in conflict zones,” said Mayilyan. “In order to avoid an Azerbaijani military revanche, the world centers that declare they are interested in stability in the South Caucasus should recognize the independence of NKR thereby blocking a military way out of the situation.”

Early in the day, NKR leadership and the official delegation led by Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan visited memorials in Stepanakert and Shushi, paying tribute to the memory of those who died in the national-liberation struggle.

A celebration concert in Stepanakert’s central stadium in the evening will wrap up the scheduled independence day events.