ARKADY GHUKASIAN: OPULENCE OF STATE DOES NOT DEPEND ON ITS SIZE

PanARMENIAN.Net - Goran Lennmarker's position is a political but not legal approach, NKR President Arkady Ghukasian stated when commenting on the statement by OSCE PA special representative for the Caucasus Goran Lennmarker, who said, "We can't allow formation of a big number on the territory of the Caucasus. There should be three strong and respected states in the region", De Facto news agency reports. According to A. Ghukasian, perceiving the South Caucasus as a part of Europe, Goran Lennmarker sees threat in acknowledging "dwarf states". Pursuing such a policy the Europeans should have initiated struggle against Monaco or Luxembourg as well, he noted. "In my opinion the opulence of a state is not directly connected with its size. The ability of the people to bear responsibility for its fate, level of its self-organization, adequacy to progress can be recognized as real criteria. Nagorno Karabakh does meet these criteria", he added. When commenting on Terry Davis's statement that "Nagorno Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan and the issue should be settled within the territorial integrity of this state", Arkady Ghukasian said that principle of territorial integrity both of the NKR and Azerbaijan can come into force only after a peaceful agreement is signed. "Our two republics have formed on the area of former soviet territorial entity and should settle the issue as independent states", the NKR President resumed.