Armine Gevorgyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Stepanakert
“Artsakh welcomes any struggle for self-determination,” Prime Minister of the Nagrono Karabakh Republic Ara Harutyunyan said in an exclusive interview with Public Radio of Armenia.
On March 18 the Russian and Crimean leaders signed a reunification treaty. On the same day a concert was held in Stepanakert dedicated to the self-determination of the people of Crimea. A day before the NKR Foreign Ministry had issued a statement, saying it considers the referendum held on March 16 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as yet another manifestation of realization of the right of peoples to self-determination. Later on the referendum was welcomed by the groups and factions of the NKR National Assembly.
Armenia’s reaction to the position of official Stepanakert was not unequivocal. Different assessments of politicians followed. In particular, ex-Foreign Minister Alexander Arzumanyan declared that he saw Russia behind the celebration of Crimea’s self-determination in Nagorno Karabakh.
“I don’t know how the fact was accepted in Armenia, but Artsakh welcomes any struggle for self-determination. It’s perhaps difficult for people in Armenia to understand what self-determination means, since Armenia has never faced the issue. We have welcomed the fact that the people of Crimea have decided how they want to live. We have welcomed the independence of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Kosovo. This is the democracy, not the massacre in Maidan. Democracy is the expression of a position through a referendum,” Ara Harutyunyan said.
