The statement by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is a disgraceful statement. It is a gross violation of human rights and democracy, if not a blow. David Babayan, adviser and representative-at large of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) president and ex-FM of Artsakh, stated this in an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am on Monday, regarding Michel’s statement made on Sunday in Brussels.
"Michel became equal to [former UK PM Neville] Chamberlain. As a result of the disgraceful conspiracy in 1938, democratic Czechoslovakia was handed over to Nazi Germany," Babayan noted.
He called this not only a repetition of the Munich conspiracy, but also a closer cooperation between distorted democracy and prosperous totalitarianism.
"What democracy are we talking about [regarding Azerbaijan]? They are geopolitically corrupt people. Does Michel want to drive us [the Armenians of Artsakh] to a concentration camp? That's how it turns out. What international mechanisms are we talking about if Chamberlain's plan is being implemented?” the Artsakh presidential advisor asked in bewilderment.
In his opinion, all issues should be resolved quickly because time is short.
"It is necessary to understand the position of official Armenia, the Armenian people, the collective West—represented by the US—, and Russia. After that, the situation will be clarified once and for all, and the possible steps to get out of this difficult situation will become clear.
"Michel severely reduced the possibility of maneuver, he noted a number and did it deliberately. Now we must get an answer from Armenia and the Armenian people.
"Europe has legitimized the 2020 [military] aggression, justified the installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor [by Azerbaijan]. With that, it showed that, perhaps, it was directly or indirectly involved Azerbaijan and Turkey's aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia in 2020. Where are those European observers? It will be so in Artsakh, too.
"It [i.e., Europe] came also to know the position of Russia as the main guarantor of the implementation of that document [i.e., the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020]. Is it present in those processes or not? As long as there are Russian peacekeepers, there is no massacre [in Artsakh]. Russia was strong in the South Caucasus for 300 years, including thanks to the Armenians of Artsakh. About 50 thousand Artsakh Armenians fell during the Second World War.
"There are no more diplomatic solutions; that matter is closed. Who is Michel, who took it upon himself to settle that matter? It is not legitimate; there is the OSCE Minsk Group. He refers to the Almaty declaration, distorting it. But all this does not matter, the EU just wants to create a united front against Russia, and is ready for anything for that.
"What rights are we talking about if they are including us [i.e., Artsakh] in the totalitarian state [i.e., Azerbaijan]?" Babayan asked.
He recalled that no one in Artsakh is ready to live under the yoke of Azerbaijan, informing that two of the four options for further actions remain.
"There were four options: inclusion in Azerbaijan, maintaining the status quo, struggle, as well as not accepting the Azerbaijani yoke and the biblical solution. Now there are two options left: struggle and biblical solution.
"What should we discuss with Baku? How we will surrender [to it]? It is not the Artsakh issue that is being resolved, but the issue of Armenian self-determination, the issue of who is an Armenian.
"Artsakh has never been a free eater for Armenia and the Armenian people, but has made an unprecedented contribution to the common cause. We want to know what the Armenian people think.
"We don't want to discuss rights and security or any other issues within Azerbaijan, no matter under the conditions of whatever mechanism it may be. The matter will not even reach the mechanisms.
“There are two ways out: a struggle with an unknown ending, and a dignified biblical way out for the preservation of the [Armenian] gene pool, as the Jews once did by leaving Egypt," concluded the adviser to the Artsakh president.
