{"id":7758,"date":"2026-04-20T16:07:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/?p=7758"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:07:39","slug":"kak-alma-atinskaja-deklaracija-stala-prikrytiem-dlja-sdachi-arcaha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/2026\/04\/20\/kak-alma-atinskaja-deklaracija-stala-prikrytiem-dlja-sdachi-arcaha\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW THE ALMA-ATA DECLARATION WAS USED AS A COVER FOR SURRENDERING ARTSAKH"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has recently been asserting that the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 officially confirmed the territorial integrity of the newly independent states within the borders of the former Soviet republics. Based on this claim, he argues that Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. Furthermore, he consistently removes the Artsakh issue from both Armenia's foreign and domestic policy agendas, calling it a \u201cnew reality.\u201d However, this argument collapses under the weight of both facts and international law.<\/p>\n<div class='avia-iframe-wrap'><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u0531\u0564\u0580\u0562\u0565\u057b\u0561\u0576\u056b\u0576 \u057c\u0561\u0566\u0574\u0561\u057e\u0561\u0580\u0561\u056f\u0561\u0576 \u0563\u0578\u0580\u056e\u0561\u0580\u0584 \u0565\u0576\u0584 \u0561\u057c\u0561\u057b\u0561\u0580\u056f\u0565\u056c\u2024 \u0553\u0561\u0577\u056b\u0576\u0575\u0561\u0576\" width=\"1500\" height=\"844\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KFkIr_xflOY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">What is the Alma-Ata Declaration Really About?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class='avia-image-container  av-styling-    avia-align-center'  itemprop=\"ImageObject\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"  ><div class='avia-image-container-inner'><img class='avia_image' src='https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/alma-atinskaja-deklaracija-scaled.webp' alt='' title='\u0410\u043b\u043c\u0430-\u0410\u0442\u0438\u043d\u0441\u043a\u0430\u044f \u0434\u0435\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0440\u0430\u0446\u0438\u044f'   itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  \/><\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pashinyan presents the Alma-Ata Declaration as a definitive document. However, the Alma-Ata Declaration, signed on December 21, 1991, is a political agreement aimed at establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Declaration recognizes the borders of the states \"as they were at the time of signing.\" However, these borders referred to the administrative divisions within a single state \u2014 the USSR. International law makes a clear distinction between state borders and administrative borders. Administrative borders cannot automatically become state borders, especially without considering the will of the people residing in the affected areas.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">The Legal History of Artsakh's Status: What Does Pashinyan Overlook?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pashinyan overlooks the entire legal history surrounding the status of Artsakh. Historical records show that the right to self-determination was not just theoretical; it was exercised according to the legal norms of the time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let\u2019s start from the beginning. Between 1918 and 1920, Artsakh was a separate political unit with its own authorities: the Congress of Armenians of Karabakh, the National Council, and the Government. Importantly, Karabakh was not recognized as part of the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic. Additionally, the global community, including the League of Nations, did not formally recognize Azerbaijan as a state with clearly defined borders. Baku negotiated with Karabakh\u2019s authorities as a separate entity. Karabakh was not considered an internal territory but rather a disputed region with distinct attributes.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The 1921 decision to transfer Karabakh to the Azerbaijani SSR was made with procedural violations and contradicted an earlier decision to include it in the Armenian SSR. The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAR) within the USSR had attributes of a subject of law: its own Council of People's Deputies (parliament), a prohibition on border changes without its consent, and representation in All-Union bodies. While formally an autonomous region, in practice, it held a status closer to that of a self-governing entity.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">The Crucial Year 1991: What Role Did the Alma-Ata Declaration Play?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" class=\"translation-block\">With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the right to self-determination transitioned from a theoretical concept to an actionable right. Pashinyan makes a serious error by isolating the Alma-Ata Declaration from the broader legal framework of the time. He seems to have forgotten the Soviet Law of April 3, 1990, \"On the Procedure for the Withdrawal of Soviet Republics from the USSR,\" which granted autonomous regions the right to decide their future through referendums if a Soviet republic seceded from the USSR.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In this context, Nagorno-Karabakh exercised its right to self-determination, as provided by Soviet law \u2014 the same legal framework under which all administrative borders had been drawn. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic declared its independence on September 2, 1991, and its citizens overwhelmingly voted for independence in a referendum on December 10, 1991. This process was conducted in strict accordance with the laws of the time, and Karabakh was the only Soviet autonomous region to fully follow this legal path from start to finish.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As for the Alma-Ata Declaration, it was signed later, on December 21, 1991. The Declaration could not invalidate the legal acts that had already been carried out under the existing laws. It was a political agreement among former Soviet republics, but it had no binding legal effect on them and could not revoke the right to self-determination granted by both Soviet law and international law.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">The Key Contradiction in Azerbaijan\u2019s Position<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By aligning with Baku\u2019s stance, Pashinyan overlooks a crucial factor. Azerbaijan\u2019s 1991 Independence Act declared the Soviet period illegal and declared Azerbaijan as the successor state to the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic of 1918-1920. Notably, by rejecting the Soviet legal framework, Azerbaijan is also rejecting the only legal basis on which Karabakh was ever considered part of its territory \u2014 the 1921 Soviet decision. Essentially, Azerbaijan is demanding land based on a legal system it itself deems invalid. This is a significant legal point, one that could form the basis for a strong defense, but Pashinyan ignores it.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">Self-Determination vs. Territorial Integrity: Replacement of Meanings<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" class=\"translation-block\">In his speeches, Pashinyan consistently places territorial integrity above the people\u2019s right to self-determination. Artsakh\u2019s right to self-determination was exercised within the legal framework of the Soviet Union, confirmed by a referendum and the establishment of its own government. The long-standing discrimination and violence against the Armenian population of Karabakh during the Soviet era further strengthened the grounds for separation according to international law.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Alma-Ata Declaration, as a political document on the formation of the CIS, does not fix borders in perpetuity. It did not cancel the right to self-determination, especially for those peoples whose status had been unresolved even before the formation of the Soviet Union. The recognition of administrative borders is not a denial of the right to self-determination.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">Pashinyan's Disastrous Policy: Surrender Disguised as Realism<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Nikol Pashinyan is not confused about legal subtleties. He is actively pursuing a policy that undermines Armenian statehood. Under the guise of \"peace\" and \"a new reality,\" he has yielded one position after another.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Alma-Ata Declaration is just one of many documents from a tumultuous period. Yet for Pashinyan, it has become a convenient excuse to justify capitulation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The consequences of this \"wise\" policy are dire: thousands of casualties in 2020, tens of thousands of displaced people from Artsakh in 2023, the destruction of Armenia\u2019s historical and cultural heritage, and the loss of territories long considered part of Armenia, even according to his favorite maps. He calls this \u201cpeace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">By recognizing Azerbaijan\u2019s claims to Artsakh, he has rendered Armenia\u2019s diplomatic efforts meaningless. Azerbaijan no longer needs to prove its case; it simply points to Pashinyan's statements. He has become the most effective advocate for Azerbaijan\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The legal stance on Artsakh once served as our shield, but Pashinyan has shattered it. His rhetoric about peace now sounds like a cruel mockery to those who have lost their lives and homes.<\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 21px;\">We demand a tribunal for the crimes against the state and its people.<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is time for an honest reckoning, for accountability to the people who are suffering the greatest tragedy since the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Pashinyan and his team\u2019s actions are not mere mistakes \u2014 they are crimes against the state. They have dismantled our defense, surrendered Artsakh, betrayed the people, and pushed the country to the brink of collapse. Parliamentary commissions and hearings are inadequate; only a public tribunal and historical justice for those who have endangered Armenia\u2019s survival will suffice.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A tribunal is not about revenge but about the survival of the state and the restoration of justice. The people have the right to know the truth and demand answers to the fullest extent of the law. The future begins with truth, and truth requires justice. We demand a tribunal in the name of those who fell in battle, those displaced, Artsakh, and Armenia.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pashinyan presents the Alma-Ata Declaration as a definitive document. However, the Alma-Ata Declaration, signed on December 21, 1991, is a political agreement aimed at establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-materialy-tribunala","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7758"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7766,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7758\/revisions\/7766"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/armtribunal.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}