The Heritage party has submitted a bill on recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) to the RA Parliament. The Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to discus the bill at its next sitting. The Heritage Party believes that the adoption of the bill will legalize the NKR’s status quo. The document will also regulate the Armenia-NKR relations, facilitate the ensuring of NKR’s security and the international recognition of the country.

The other parliamentary factions, however, disagree with their colleagues. Talking to NEWS.am, Gagik Tsarukyan, Chairman of the Prosperous Armenia Party, said: “Let the Heritage Party resolve its own problems first and then deal with the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.”

Galust Sahakyan, head of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction said: “It is nothing, but flirt. By doing so the Heritage Party wants to show it loves Nagorno-Karabakh more than others. If the Armenian Parliament adopts the bill, it means that we withdraw from the Minsk process and negotiations.”

Yeghishe Bisharyan, head of the Country of Law faction, shares her colleagues’ opinion. She considers the bill unacceptable, as “issues of such importance must be dealt with at a much higher level than that of the National Assembly.” The adoption of the bill will not be of any benefit to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, she said.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) member Hrair Karapetyan, Chairman of the Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, voiced a different opinion. He stressed Armenia should spare no efforts for international recognition of the NKR’s status. He pointed out it is unacceptable that the bill be submitted to the Parliament and rejected by the majority. “I am absolutely sure of such an outcome. It will be a strong blow on the process of international recognition of the NKR. It means we are giving our opponents good weapons to fight us. Our opponents will certainly remember that even Armenia once refused to recognize the NKR. That is why we think the Parliament must not reject the bill. If it will, the bill had better not be put on the agenda at all,” Karapetyan said.

The Heritage Party once submitted a similar bill to the Parliament, but it was not put on the agenda.