By Hrach Melkumian
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) remains opposed to significant concessions to Azerbaijan and will challenge President Robert Kocharian if he goes too far in pursuing a compromise settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh, a leader of the influential nationalist party said Friday.
"Dashnaktsutyun will no doubt fight [against the government's Karabakh
policy] when the right time comes, when we see a danger," Hrant Markarian, who is a senior member of the worldwide Dashnaktsutyun bureau, told reporters. But he said there will be no attempts to undermine "political stability" in the country.
He said his party is against withdrawal from some of the occupied
Azerbaijani territories which the Karabakh authorities are willing to
return to Baku in exchange for de-facto independence. Karabakh must be
linked to Armenia not only through the Lachin district but also the
adjacent regions of Kelbajar, Gubatly and Zangelan, according to Markarian.
Dashnaktsutyun has largely supported Kocharian ever since his election as president in 1998 but appears to advocate a stronger Armenian stand on Karabakh. In late March, in the run-up to the peace talks in the Florida resort of Key West, the party issued a statement warning Kocharian that any agreement with Azerbaijan that falls short of formalizing Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan would be deemed unacceptable.
Markarian also urged the authorities to make all details of the peace
process public. "The Karabakh issue is not a privatization tender to be kept secret," he said.
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) remains opposed to significant concessions to Azerbaijan and will challenge President Robert Kocharian if he goes too far in pursuing a compromise settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh, a leader of the influential nationalist party said Friday.
"Dashnaktsutyun will no doubt fight [against the government's Karabakh
policy] when the right time comes, when we see a danger," Hrant Markarian, who is a senior member of the worldwide Dashnaktsutyun bureau, told reporters. But he said there will be no attempts to undermine "political stability" in the country.
He said his party is against withdrawal from some of the occupied
Azerbaijani territories which the Karabakh authorities are willing to
return to Baku in exchange for de-facto independence. Karabakh must be
linked to Armenia not only through the Lachin district but also the
adjacent regions of Kelbajar, Gubatly and Zangelan, according to Markarian.
Dashnaktsutyun has largely supported Kocharian ever since his election as president in 1998 but appears to advocate a stronger Armenian stand on Karabakh. In late March, in the run-up to the peace talks in the Florida resort of Key West, the party issued a statement warning Kocharian that any agreement with Azerbaijan that falls short of formalizing Karabakh's secession from Azerbaijan would be deemed unacceptable.
Markarian also urged the authorities to make all details of the peace
process public. "The Karabakh issue is not a privatization tender to be kept secret," he said.