The Armenian National Congress Party made a statement opposing the article published by Hajiyev, advisor to the President of Azerbaijan, in Newsweek magazine.
Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, published an article in the American “Newsweek” magazine in which, trying to justify Azerbaijan’s refusal to sign a peace treaty with Armenia, he writes:
“Major obstacles remain on our way. The first is the Constitution of Armenia, which calls for annexing the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan to Armenia. This constitutional revanchist demand has been an obstacle to peace in the past. In 1996, the then president of Armenia refused to sign the final declaration of the OSCE summit, arguing that the Constitution of Armenia does not allow the signing of an international document recognizing Karabakh as part of the territory of Azerbaijan.
What Hajiyev said is another falsehood of Azerbaijani militant propaganda. In 1996, in Lisbon, the First President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, twice expressed Armenia’s position regarding the Karabakh conflict settlement plan, which offered Nagorno Karabakh the highest self-government status within Azerbaijan.
1. It happened for the first time in the plenary session when the president announced. “In our deep conviction, if the Karabakh problem is solved based on the principles proposed by Azerbaijan, the population of Nagorno Karabakh will face the constant threat of genocide or forced displacement. The experience of anti-Armenian pogroms in Sumgait (February 1988), Kirovabad (November 1988), and Baku (January 1990), as well as the deportation of the population of 24 Armenian villages in Karabakh (May-June 1991), clearly shows that Azerbaijan, despite all assurances, cannot provide security guarantees for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh”.
2. Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s second statement was registered as the second appendix to the official document of the OSCE Lisbon summit. It justified Armenia’s use of the veto on the proposed Karabakh conflict settlement as follows: “The declaration predetermines the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, contradicting the decision of the OSCE Ministerial Council, which reserves this authority to the Minsk Group Conference, which should be convened after a political agreement is reached.”
3. As we have stated many times, the Constitution does not provide any borders for Armenia other than the internationally recognized borders of 1991, which was once again confirmed by the decision of the Armenian Supreme Court.
Thus, Azerbaijan is presenting a blatant lie to the international community, trying to justify the rejection of peace with Armenia with allegedly existing “constitutional obstacles.” Unfortunately, a severe media outlet such as Newsweek magazine did not correctly verify the authenticity of Hajiyev’s claims.
The real problem, however, is different from this lie presented by Azerbaijan, which can be easily refuted if desired. The problem is more the barren policy of Nikol Pashinyan, who was obliged to contribute to the attention of the international community and, in particular, “Newsweek” magazine, the official answer of Armenia denying Azerbaijan’s lies and insisting on its publication. Pashinyan’s diplomacy, however, silenced the Azerbaijani lie. By doing so, he once again expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan’s falsifying policy.
The same applies to Azerbaijan’s claims about the “genocide” of Khojaly. At that time, too, the Armenian National Congress had to take over the function of the Armenian authorities and present the evidence refuting the false propaganda of Azerbaijan,” the statement said.
