STEPANAKERT. April 21 (Interfax-AVN) - Armenian parliamentary speaker Tigran Torosian has spoken in favor of Nagorno-Karabakh's right to self-determination.
"From the viewpoint of international standards, Nagorno-Karabakh's right to self-determination looks infallible, and the constitution of Nagorno-Karabakh absolutely meets European standards," Torosian told journalists in Stepanakert on Friday, following a meeting with Nagorno-Karabakh speaker Ashot Gulian.
"Nagorno-Karabakh, as an internationally recognized party to the conflict, should also return to the negotiating process," Torosian said. In this light, he called for "consolidation of efforts of all Armenians" to ensure international recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence, he said.
Torosian and Gulian called on European institutions to attach more significance to conflict areas, particularly Nagorno-Karabakh. "The populations in those territories suffered more than others, but European institutions, whose activity is based on the protection of human rights, have strange attitudes toward them. This should not depend on whether these territories are recognized or not," Torosian said.
He described it as an important achievement that mediators in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have mentioned the right to self-determination in the past several years.