Armenia Releases Karabakh Negotiation Files; Opposition Demands More
The Armenian government published a wide range of documents related to Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations, including materials from previous administrations that had long remained classified. Among the released materials are the OSCE Minsk Group proposals from 2016 and 2019, former President Serzh Sargsyan’s parliamentary statements, the Krakow document, Sargsyan’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian package proposals, the Kazan document, the Madrid Principles, the Meghri-Karabakh territorial exchange option, comprehensive OSCE Minsk Group proposals, the OSCE Chair-in-Office statement at the 1996 Lisbon Summit, the 1994 Budapest Summit declaration, and relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Several pre-2020 documents previously available but directly related to these negotiations were also republished.
Opposition figures reacted strongly. Levon Zurabyan, Vice Chairman of the Armenian National Congress, said the disclosure resulted from sustained public and political pressure demanding the release of the June 2019 settlement plan. He argued that the government faced a dilemma — keep the documents secret and fuel suspicion, or publish them before elections and attempt to manage political fallout.
Zurabyan claimed the published documents confirm earlier opposition warnings, asserting that if the 2019 proposal had been adopted, Armenia would have gained peace, the lifting of the blockade, de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh, retained control over Kalbajar and Lachin, secured international peacekeepers along Nagorno-Karabakh's perimeter, and prevented Azerbaijani forces from entering the 5 regions slated for return.
He called the development only a partial victory, reiterating demands for publication of Armenia’s official response to the 2019 proposal. Zurabyan said only two explanations exist: either the government is hiding Armenia’s response — which would intensify accusations of mismanagement — or no response was ever issued, which he argued would imply that the government ignored the Minsk Group proposal and undermined negotiations prior to the 2020 war.
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