Armenia should not become the first country to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh, NKR President's Spokesman David Babayan has told the RFE/RL Armenian Service, when commenting on the bill recognizing the independence of the NKR.
"We campaign for recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence and we are taking steps to that end. But we think that Armenia should not be the first country to recognize the NKR," says, noting that such a scenario may happen only in case Azerbaijan resumes the war. There will simply be no alternative in that case, he says.
Babayan notes that the steps of Yerevan and Stepanakert towards international recognition of the NKR have already given some tangible results. "In 2016 alone, two U.S. states recognized the independence of Artsakh," Babayan said, expressing that the list will grow and will receive a new quality after the April developments. To note, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has reacted to the Armenian bill prepared by opposition lawmakers Zaruhi Postanjyan and Hrant Bagratyan. Azerbaijani media outlets report that Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, thinks Armenia's recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence will put an end to the OSCE Minsk Group process. "In case of such recognition the OSCE Minsk Group will be deprived of its mandate," Trend quotes Hajiyev as saying. "This is a striking example of abuse and arbitrary treatment of the Minsk Group process, its co- chairs and international community. International community must adequately respond to these provocative actions of Armenia," Hajiyev said.
On May 3, Yerevan made statements at various levels that at the moment Armenia is not going to recognize Karabakh's independence. Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Shavarsh Kocharyan said that Armenia would recognize Karabakh in case Azerbaijan resumes its large-scale aggression in the Karabakh conflict zone.
In addition, the Government of Armenia will discuss a bill recognizing the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on May 5. The bill was submitted by the opposition MPs Zaruhi Postanjyan and Hrant Bagratyan. The rationale for the bill is the outcome of the discussions on the issue between representatives of Armenia and Karabakh. In case the Government approves the bill, it will be submitted to the National Assembly. Earlier, Zaruhi Postanjyan had submitted a similar bill twice, but the parliamentary majority killed the bills saying that recognition of the NKR by Armenia would stop the peace talks.