“A criminal case was ‘created’ two years ago in which I was accused of something ridiculous, and the case was sent to the court. Do you remember how I said that Artsakh would never be a part of Azerbaijan last year? Some people did not understand why I didn’t speak about the ridiculous case, and instead, I spoke about issues of national security,” third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan announced at the start of his trial outside of the Yerevan Court of General Jurisdiction.
He said, “Some people were confused. Some people even tried to make fun of it. But we felt and predicted why these persecutions and illegal activities were taking place. This was not only against me. These persecutions were part of the chain of anti-Artsakh activities that took place in Armenia since 2018, the aim of which was to discredit the people at the root of the Artsakh struggle and to bury the issue of Artsakh and our national aspirations. We will continue our struggle, and I want to emphasize one more time that our messages and warnings were not received well. A bloody war with many casualties and territorial losses is what it took for the people to open their eyes and for them to understand the intentions and essence of these authorities. And today I want to give a message, a message in honor of the heroes who died for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia over the last 33 years, in honor of the blood shed, and in honor of Artsakh and the future of Armenia. All those who believe that the Artsakh issue has been resolved, either outside or inside of Armenia, must understand that Artsakh, or, rather, what is left of Artsakh, can never be a part of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, it was not possible to prevent the tragedy. But I see the path to rising from this tragedy: the capitulators must leave.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
