Memory for numbers rarely fails me. I clearly remember a conversation I had with my dear friend, writer and art critic Telman Zurabyan (professor, historian and orientalist from Tbilisi, Georgia) 40 years ago. Speaking of the Treaty of Sevres, he said that within the borders defined by Woodrow Wilson’s arbitration decision, Armenia was to cover the area of 70,000 square miles. The figure immediately aroused my doubt. Professor D.S. Zavriev’s 1946 book “On the modern history of the North-Ea
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phenomenally and articulately written
What a bizarre and ridiculous conclusion,the dismantlement of Azerbaijan. Armenia was unable to liberate the entire area of Artsakh ( i speak of the Northern section still under Azeri control) and is defending herself at great cost against a far larger belligerent and yet the writer calls the ending of an entire nation to be the most practical option. Would the international community accept it, would the Azeri people accept it quietly. They may have settled in the region after the Armenians and Georgian but nevertheless they have been there for centuries and there are 7 million of them.
Armenians must focus on defending herself adequately, increasing economic prosperity and coming to an amicable agreement with all stakeholders. This will be difficult but must be done.
With respect its’s not that outlandish an idea Arto. There are many minorities living in Azerbaijan. I believe what the author is referring to is dividing the country up into smaller more manageable states. This wouldn’t necessarily require Armenia to take more land/start an invasion.
“Would the international community accept it”- well they accept it when they shell the living crap out of Armenians.
They international community accepted it when Artsakh and Nakhichevan were given over to Azerbaijan. The international community accepted Ramil Safarov getting released.
Armenians generally like to accept the rules of peace treaties which hasn’t got us very far. Rules are there to be broken- Turkey and Azerbaijan do it all the time and Europeans turn a blind eye.
No one cares about the international community, they are toothless and whatever Armenians do they will seem to be at fault. So the Republic of Armenia might as well do what is in its own best interest like most nations.
I would like to comment on the third point you made about the Armenian question. Many countries, such as Germany, Hungary and the Soviet Union were not originally members to the league of nations. The Caucasus states were not invited either, so boy your own logic Armenia and Georgia would also be “illegal” states. The LON was an organization made by the victors of WW1 and their vision of the world, not being part of that vision does not equal not being a real state. Secondly, Azerbaijan leaving the USSR was illegal under soviet law, but so was the departure of the 14 other republics. Armenia and Azerbaijan both left the union illegaly by Soviet law, but that does not mean much when that state collapsed just a few months after the declerations of independence.
In order to be a state to be recognized as legitimate, at least according to the Montevideo Convention of 1933 it needs:
1.constant population
2.ability to conduct foreign policy
3.Recognition from the international community
4.a government that can make desicions on its own without foreign interference
Azerbaijan fits all four of these.
The first step to peace in any conflict is the recognition of the other side, if you cannot even do this, then you are going to help relase the dogs of war sooner or later.
“We need a new concept of the main issue of our life, seeing it through our own – not somebody else’s – eyes.”….. IS the best line in the entire article and IS THE ONLY ANSWER!. We are the smartest most industrious race on this planet. Yet our geography and years of oppression has made us dysfunctional as a race with this constant need for validation and approval by OTHERS. Time to heal and take our RIGHT ROLE and place in this world as leaders, bringing forward advancements in our science and technology, but more importantly, human rights and dignity and justice for our own genocide. ITS UP TO US TO HEAL.. With HEALING will bring UNITY. UNITY WILL BRING ARMENIAN MIGHT. As for the rest of the article I AGREE TOTALLY: How is the treaty of Kars legal anyway? Its not. No one gave authority to divide lands. The USSR doesn’t even exist. There is no country of Azerbaijan. Armenian foreign policy needs to reflect this TRUTH all the time!.
We all seem to be missing an important dark shadowy element in all of this: Caspian OIL. Newly found oil in 1905 now included Rothschild banking money investments in the Caspaian oil, which propped up the CUP itself, after ousting the Sultan that is in 1908. The newly propped CUP’s only angle on the Armenian destruction was pure plunder, but more importantly, was the removal of any possible strife to oil transit routes, namely the Armenian population. That’s why the Armenians were “relocated” -liquidated and that’s why the purposeful Western obtuse resistant to any mention of the Armenian Genocide till this very day..Irony is that the current Azeri despot Aliyev regime is crying to western nations as we speak, for help to secure energy routs yet once again because of Armenians. It seems history wants to repeat itself..