STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 28, ARTSAKHPRESS: Mechanisms must be found to force the Azerbaijani government to accept the result of the referendum on self-determination that took place in 1991 or to accept a new referendum internationally homologated with the mediation of referee countries and international pressure. But this whole negotiation is a very unlikely scenario if the aggressions of Azerbaijan on the territory of the Artsakh Republic do not stop previously. That is why the involvement of the UN and all the mediating countries is needed. It is essential to establish discussion/negotiation scenarios and end the armed conflict.

The interview with Sam Nunez is presented below:

 

As a Democrat and defender of human rights and the right of peoples to self-determination, I hope so with all my might, the democratic path away from armed conflict is the only real way to resolve any conflict. The recognition of the Artsakh Republic as a sovereign and independent state apart from Azerbaijan is the only formula for finding a permanent and stable solution to a conflict that has lasted for more than 3 decades. This is what I transmitted a year ago to the Artsakh deputy Gagik Petrosyan during his visit to the city whose town hall I am a counselor, Santa Coloma de Gramenet. In this visit even the possibility of attending the national elections of the Artsakh Republic as an international observer was considered. An internationally homologable process must be found to definitively recognize the Artsakh Republic.

 

My assessment regarding the fact that Azerbaijan has broken the ceasefire and violated the status quo established after the four-day war is clearly of nonconformity. I would like to condemn the attitude of the Azerbaijani government and denounce the economic and geostrategic interests of third countries such as Turkey. Turkey wants to control the Caucasus region and uses all forces, whether legitimate or illegal, to achieve it without the involvement of the Erdogan government being directly pointed out. Turkey is immersed in various conflicts in the region and these conflicts are also fueled by paramilitary groups of mercenaries and terrorists that aggravate/exacerbate the situation.

 

The presence of terrorists is always a risk factor that increases the possible damage suffered by the Artsakh population. From Catalonia we are afraid that this sum of factors will cause a serious attack on the Armenian people and a new genocide by Turkey, causing pain and suffering to the families of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

The struggle for the independence of Artsakh is similar to the struggle to achieve the independence of Catalonia and break away from the kingdom of Spain. Although a majority of both territories want to exercise self-determination and create new independent and sovereign states, the countries involved do not recognize the right of a people to self-determination and use force to prevent the homologation of democratic processes of independence. The international community sees on the consolidated states trade allies and does not want to break diplomatic relations, as this would entail loss of business, which usually consist of the sale of oil or gas or weapons. Turkey serves as a barrier to the European Union to keep displaced people from war conflicts such as Syria away from Europe. Therefore the EU has migratory interests with Turkey and will not raise its voice so as not to break relations of interests. The same thing happened on 1st October of 2017 in Catalonia, despite holding a referendum on self-determination and voters being beaten by the Spanish police at the polling places, the international community did not recognize the right of Catalan people to self-determination because of economic interests with the kingdom of Spain.

None of the political forces or organizations or individuals who support the cause and recognition of the Artsakh Republic are people with political forces that bring with it real capacity to influence to resolve the situation. Any government member of the UN or any party of national governments will make any statement in order not to break diplomatic and trade relations with Turkey, even in the Spanish Parliament where my party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, has repeatedly called for the recognition by the kingdom of Spain of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman government, this recognition has never been made official and all requests have been rejected.

 

As I mentioned earlier everything is economic and geostrategic interests, Turkey has NATO's largest army and therefore becomes a great ally of Europe, so they allow their interference in the problem between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We hope that it can be resolved peacefully and that a new genocide of the Armenian people does not take place. From Catalonia we will continue raising our voices to help make the conflict visible to the international community and finally be able to achieve the recognition and independence of the Artsakh Republic while we will continue to work to achieve the recognition and independence of the Catalan Republic.