Karen Ghazaryan
Public Radio of Armenia
The NATO Summit is special to us this time, as Armenia is represented at the presidential level, President of the European Integration NGO, analyst Karen Bekaryan told reporters today.
He reminded that the Armenian President did not attend the two previous summits, as the wording on Nagorno Karabakh used in the final document was unacceptable to Armenia. In the final document NATO was stressing the importance of only one of the principles – the territorial integrity. This was seen as certain violation of the format and content of negotiations under way within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.
As for Armenian President’s speech at the summit, Karen Bekaryan stressed several essential points. “First, the President emphasized the fact that NATO member Turkey is lobbying to ensure support for the interests of its ally Azerbaijan,” he said.
The political scientist considers that if this time NATO resorts to the wording of the previous years, it will encourage Azerbaijan to become more cynical and provocative in its actions. According to him, this will lay a huge responsibility and blame on those who adopt the document.
“If the same formulations are used, this will devalue the meeting in Wales and Kerry’s promises,” Bekaryan said.
The analyst hopes, but is not confident, that Armenia’s approaches will be reflected in the document, as there is danger that interests are starting to prevail over values.
