^{Photo by PanARMENIAN}

The Irish precedent cannot offer any solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, says Armen Melikyan, a former foreign minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Republic.

The diplomat made the statement in connection with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore’s recent call for applying his country's experience to the Karabakh settlement process.

“If I am not mistaken, they told a story on how Ireland gained independence from the UK, leaving its eastern part to Britain. In all likelihood, they are drawing parallels in an attempt to say that Armenia is an independent state so there would be nothing strange if Artsakh remained under the Azerbaijani hegemony,” he told Tert.am.

The precedent, according to Melikyan, is that the intercommunity problems between the Irish Catholics and Roman Protestants eventually find a certain solution in the country which forms part of Great Britain.
 

The politician characterized the Irish model as a kind of “pilot program” aimed at creating an impression that the process is not going round in a circle.
 

“It is several years they have been attempting to bring the program to life, choosing different names,” he said, adding that the plan is far from realistic. “That will leave the problem unresolved because there are real criteria allowing us to settle the problem by establishing a long-term peace. But there are alien interests which seek to resolve the problem to their benefit.”
 

Melikyan noted that the Turks and Azerbaijanis are dreaming to see the problem considered in the light of international reconciliation context.

“If my analysis is not right, I am hopeful the OSCE chairperson-in-office will have something new to say. Or probably, there is a plan related to Northern Ireland, which they haven’t unveiled so far and are now going to voice it in connection with the Artsakh issue,” he added.
 

Melikyan said the intercommunity reconciliation between the two religious groups in Northern Ireland has nothing to do with the Karabakh conflict, and is hence unacceptable to Armenia.
 

The OSCE official made the call for applying to Irish precedent to Karabakh at a recent meeting with the Azerbaijani parliament speaker, Bahar Muradova.