President Serzh Sargsyan spoke of an active phase in the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh as he visited the self-declared Armenian republic last weekend to attend a large-scale military drill.

“The real situation is that after a prolonged passive phase the process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution has entered the active phase,” Sargsyan said in an interview with Public Television. “This is stipulated by at least two important factors: The presidential elections in both Armenia and Azerbaijan have been completed. And the second factor: after the well-known events (war in Georgia) that took place in the region, it became clear that there is no military solution to the problem.”

The Armenian leader also said that a resolution of the longstanding conflict is possible “if Azerbaijan recognizes the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh for self-determination, if Nagorno-Karabakh has a land border with the Republic of Armenia, and if international organizations and the leading powers of the world guarantee the security of the Nagorno-Karabakh people.”

Sargsyan also advocated as helpful “public discussions” on the subject, but said that such discussions must be based on “the interest of the Armenian people.”

“We have sacrificed way too much for the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem for us just to turn a blind eye or disregard the attempts to make use of the issue. We are resolving a dear issue. We are resolving an important historical issue, and in the process of its resolution if someone is trying to find some other interest, it is simply immoral,” said Sargsyan in an apparent reference to the recent accusations aired by opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan that he [Sargsyan] was ready to make concessions over Nagorno-Karabakh only to legitimize his presidency in the West’s eyes.

International mediators have stepped up their efforts in recent months with a clear intention to achieve a framework agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the principles of conflict settlement by the end of the year.

The cochairmen of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), an international format advancing a negotiated settlement of the conflict, paid several visits to the region in recent months to ensure a restart of active talks between the parties to the conflict.

Visiting Yerevan last week Russian President Dmitry Medvedev extended an invitation to the president of Armenia to come to Moscow for talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart. The president of Russia -- one of the three states co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group along with the United States and France -- did not, however, make a mention of the international format, prompting further speculations that the Group’s role in the conflict settlement could be diminished or that it could even be supplanted by some other format with greater involvement of other regional players, such as Turkey.

In his remarks on Public Television, Sargsyan emphasized that “the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is conducted within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, based on the ‘Madrid principles’ (elaborated in late 2007).

“It has been said more than once and I say it now: there is no other way. The only mediators are the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group and the confusion that someone is trying to create does not help us at all. I repeat, the only mediators are the Co-Chairs of the Minsk Group, and Armenia has never requested any other state to become a mediator.

“Russia is one of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and President Medvedev’s invitation and his active stance are quite comprehensive.”
In the interview Sargsyan was also asked to comment on a recent statement by Turkish President Abdullah Gul who reportedly said that Sargsyan had asked for assistance in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution.
Sargsyan reminded that generally he was not inclined to interpret other leaders’ statements “particularly when our media produces extracts out of context”, but said:

“The truth is that the only mediators are the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, however we do not refuse any help. Yes, I am confident that Turkey can bring its assistance to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and I think it brings it even now: the visit of President Gul to Yerevan, continuing Armenian-Turkish negotiations are a very good example of solving difficult issues. I am confident that if Turkey opens the borders and establishes diplomatic relations with Armenia it will assist greatly in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.”