Does Armenia Acknowledge That 'Shushi is Azerbaijan and That's It': Open Letter from Former MP of Artsakh to Pashinyan

Former parliament member and head of the external relations committee of Artsakh, Vahram Atanesyan, has sent an Open Letter to the current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan via a Facebook post.

“The stance of the President of Azerbaijan fundamentally contradicts the tripartite statement of November 10, which does not pre-determine the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, while the entry of Russian peacekeepers guarantees the safety of the Armenian population in the region. The competent authority of Armenia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was obligated to send an immediate note of protest to the Russian Federation—as a party to the ceasefire agreement in Nagorno-Karabakh—and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as to the United Nations and the OSCE, informing them about the president of Azerbaijan’s intolerance and his threats to use force.

Moreover, your government should have declared a suspension of political discussions with Azerbaijan until Ilham Aliyev officially apologizes to the Armenian population of Artsakh for his inhumane intentions of physical extermination or total forcible displacement.

Unfortunately, the Armenian government has not responded in any way to the threats made by Ilham Aliyev. Furthermore, the behavior of the president of Azerbaijan did not even receive a political evaluation from the National Assembly, where the party you lead has a constitutional majority.

This stance of the Armenian government and the majority in the National Assembly raises at least two questions: a) Was the visit of the President of Azerbaijan to Shushi discussed at the Moscow tripartite meeting? b) Does Armenia acknowledge that 'Shushi is Azerbaijan and that's it,' with all the implied consequences that the president of Azerbaijan formulates as the end of the Republic of Artsakh as a state?

I expect a clear response.

Vahram Atanesyan
Member of the First Convocation of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Convocations
Stepanakert, Republic of Artsakh, Mashtots 2, b. 4
Phone: 097280909
Email: [email protected]