“Armenia is living through one of the most difficult periods in its history, and we are experiencing the consequences of the catastrophic 44-Day War and humiliation. This will continue as long as Nikol Pashinyan is in power,” analyst Tatul Hakobyan said at the discussion organized at the Article 3 press club titled, “Azerbaijani provocation at the Armenian border: Yerevan appeals to the CSTO” regarding Azerbaijani violations against Armenian state borders along Syunik and other areas along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. According to the analyst, Azerbaijan sees that Armenia does not have a government, which gives it the opportunity to take what they need. “This is a historical opportunity for them, the same we had in 1992-1993.”
“I want to believe that the Azerbaijanis will retreat in the next few hours or days at the Russians’ pressure, but that will have a price. We will have to pay for it. As far as what we will pay, I have difficulty figuring out,” he said.
Regarding the upcoming snap elections and potential changes in the situation as a result, Tatul Hakobyan believes that there is an electorate that will vote for Nikol Pashinyan no matter what, even if the government building surrounded by police is the only thing that remains in Armenia. “But those who will vote for Nikol Pashinyan because they don’t want to hear the names of Tsarukyan, Serzh Sargsyan, Marukyan, and others may change their minds.”
“This is the first time our defense system has not worked since 1994. First, it seems that shepherds have seen Azerbaijanis invading. Second, the Armenian-Russian alliance did not work, as well as the CSTO, but all of these problems are inside Armenia, and it would not be fair for us to find someone to blame among all other nations besides our own. We should look at all of this from Baku’s perspective. When shepherds guard the Armenian borders and it’s possible to advance, why shouldn’t they advance? This situation will continue as long as we have a catastrophic but elected government. Azerbaijan is wearing away at Armenia. We only want the Azerbaijanis to retreat from the Sev Lich area. I’m not saying that we forgot about it, but the issue of POWs became secondary, Artsakh’s territory became tertiary, and Artsakh’s status became quaternary. Six months was enough for us to not be in this humiliating situation, but even if we had six years, this elected catastrophe would not have been able to maintain Armenia’s security, sovereignty, and independence. Every day these authorities stay in power comes at a price. Either the Azerbaijanis will tear at us as much as they can, or we will appeal to the Russians, who will help us. And after every time they help us, less security will remain,” Tatul Hakobyan said.
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Nelly Grigoryan
