The West has no time for Karabakh, ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has told a sitting of the opposition alliance, the Armenian National Movement.
"I have always said that the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is being delayed not so much because of the sides' disagreements as because this problem is not a priority for the West," Ter-Petrosyan told the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement on Saturday.
"The key priorities of the West are fighting global terrorism, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the global crisis," the Armenian National Congress leader said. "After the Russian-Georgian war it seemed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict would also become the West's priority. However, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the global crisis have proved to be much too heavy a burden for the West and today it has hardly time left for Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The West must admit that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not among its priorities so that the conflicting parties could look for alternatives. In 1920 the UK was brave enough to advise Armenia to no longer rely on the West and to try to solve its problems by coming to terms with its neighbours."
Unlike the West, Russia has always regarded the South Caucasus as a region of its vital interests, Ter-Petrosyan said.
"The keys to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement and Armenian-Turkish rapprochement are in the hands of Moscow, " he told the congress.
"The passivity of the West in the region is due partially to this very activity of Russia as somewhat subconsciously they regard the South Caucasus as a sphere of Russia's influence. So, whoever is in power in Armenia should view these problems in this geopolitical context.
"I think that the present Armenian authorities do not realize this, unlike Turkey and Azerbaijan, who are showing more realistic attitudes and have active contacts with Russia. Today we are facing the situation of 1920 - a situation we failed to find the way out of. Today, we have no right to repeat that mistake," Ter-Petrosyan said.
The threat of war will remain until the Karabakh conflict is resolved, the Armenian National Congress leader said.
"Fortunately, both the Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities are aware of this threat and try to use the last diplomatic opportunities to avoid a war. However, this situation cannot last for ever. If diplomacy fails or the settlement is protracted, the situation may spin out of control and fresh bloodshed may begin," the ex-president said.
He said that Azerbaijan was bound to be considering a military solution to the conflict. He quoted four claims that are often made in this context, but left his audience to draw their own conclusions: "Azerbaijan is not capable of bringing Armenia and Karabakh to their knees; the Armenian army has the morale and determination to crush the enemy; the international community will not allow a new war to start; the Collective Security Treaty Organization will give a fitting rebuff to Azerbaijan if necessary."
The opposition leader said that the threat of war remained as likely today as it was yesterday and would be tomorrow.
"There should be no self-deception and the people should not be deceived either. The people should know the price they will have to pay for the policies of the authorities," Ter-Petrosyan said.
He said that without a solution to Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenian-Turkish problems Armenia would not be able to ensure its political and social-economic development,
Dismissing former President Robert Kocharyan's claim that Armenia could develop under blockade for 100 years or more, Ter-Petrosyan said: "The only logic of this statement is that in 100 years Armenia may become a developed country but there will be no Armenians there. The sharp demographic decline in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh is the best proof of my words."
Levon Ter-Petrosyan was welcomed to the congress with a standing ovation.
Opening the meeting, Armenian National Movement board Aram Manukyan made a comprehensive report on the party's past and present.
His report was followed by speeches from the leader of the Social Democratic Party Hnchakyan, Lyudmila Sargsyan; ex- Prime Minister Hrant Bagratyan; the leader of the Democratic Fatherland Party, Petros Makeyan; the coordinator of the Armenian National Congress, Levon Zurabyan; the leader of the Hanrapetuyun (Republic) Party, Aram Sargsyan; and the leader of the People's Party of Armenia, Stepan Demirchyan.
None of the above said anything original, according to ArmInfo's correspondent. They criticized the government, noted the presence of political prisoners in Armenia and called for free and fair elections.
All of the speakers praised the Armenian National Movement as a force for consolidation in the early 1990s, which greatly contributed to the victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Today, it is one of the key forces constituting the Armenian National Congress, they said.
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