Vestnik Kavkaza – Bundestag MP on Karabakh resolution and Armenian NPP shutdown

Source: “Bundestag MP on Karabakh resolution and Armenian NPP shutdown”, Vestnik Kavkaza, 16 Jul 2019

*all opinions expressed are those of the original author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or stance of Nagorno Karabakh Observer. 

Beate Walter-Rosenheimer, a German member of the parliament from the Green Party, told Alumniportal-Aserbaidschan about her vision on two important issues of the South Caucasus security, i.e. Metsamor, the Armenian nuclear power plant, which threatens the whole region, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan which is the most explosive in the region.

The MP stated that her party adheres to its anti-nuclear principles: “We oppose the usage of nuclear energy, considering corresponding unpredictable risks. As for Germany, we have reached our political goal. It has already been planned to shut all nuclear power plants down. The German lands’ local ministers from our party are developing recommendations on nuclear waste disposal. Speaking about Metsamor NPP, I should say it is a ticking time bomb as it was built in a tectonically critical zone. Moreover, even without a threat of an earthquake, radioactive emission is assumed there. Metsamor must be shut down. The EU constantly criticizes absent security standards and offers 100 million euro for the NPP shutdown. The money is enough not only for disposal of the NPP but also for building alternative energy sources,” Walter-Rosenheimer pointed out.

Commenting on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the German MP said that she supported the work of the OSCE Minsk Group: “The conflict can be solved once and for all only by peaceful means and international mediation. The Nagorno-Karabakh region is one of the most militarized in the world. The intense rearmament of both sides takes place for many years and raises deep concerns. The international community should pay more attention to the region and put pressure on both sides to hold serious negotiations. The Madrid Principles remain critical in development of a long-term peace resolution. It should consider Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, as well as the right for self-determination of people in Nagorno-Karabakh. We also stand for a more active support of social organizations which deal with bridging the countries to start the process of peacemaking,” the member of the parliament said.

Let’s note that the principles of territorial integrity and the right of peoples for self-determination do not contradict each other while the leading principle is territorial integrity. Thus, the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 states that “the participating States will respect the equal rights of peoples and their right to selfdetermination, acting at all times in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and with the relevant norms of international law, including those relating to territorial integrity of States.”