YEREVAN. – The holding of such a prestigious conference on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is extremely risky for Armenia. 

Opposition Heritage Party Board Secretary Stiopa Safaryan noted the above-said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Safaryan reflected on the agreement that was reached, on Tuesday in The Hague, with respect to organizing a conference between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“The holding of such a prestigious conference, and [at a time] when the balance of powers is upset in foreign policy, remains a risk for Armenia. It is visible that Azerbaijan will make use of any little occasion especially now, when a referendum was held in the Crimea,” he said. 

In Safaryan’s view, Armenia inadvertently gave a risky response on Crimea’s self-determination, whereas the entire world tends to support Ukraine and imposes sanctions against Russia.

“At a time when Armenia is no longer one of the ‘favorites’ of the European Union and the European Union does not recognize the Crimean referendum, understand yourselves how risky is the organization of such a conference,” Stiopa Safaryan concluded.  

The Armenian and Russian Presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation on 19 March. They touched upon the situation created after the referendum in Crimea, and noted this as another example of the exercising of the people’s right to self-determination through free expression of will. They also underscored the importance of following international norms and principles, and first and foremost, the UN Charter. On 21 March, however, Ukraine recalled its ambassador to Armenia.