“Today’s situation demands that we show our teeth to the Azerbaijanis. To show that we will respond to every provocation in Karabakh. If necessary, these actions against the Armenians in Karabakh should lead to the freezing of dialogue with Turkey. If necessary, in response to the peace proposals, we should say, stop these actions against the Armenians in Karabakh, then we will return to the peace proposals,” the former Armenian Parliament Deputy Speaker (1992-98), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ara Sahakyan told Aravot, referring to the recent tense situation in Artsakh and the indifference of the Armenian authorities.
Responding to the observation that the whole world is at war, the Armenian government continues to talk about the peace agreement, our interlocutor said, “It is an Armenian dissonance, a situation falling from a rope. When the world is at war, we sit in silence waiting for our destiny to be decided. When the world is peaceful, we remember late and start a war.” The opposition figure considers very dangerous the mentality inherited from “our grandmothers” in the current situation – “whatever it is, let there be no war,” which has infected a considerable part of the society. “We should not go with vivid dreams, but assess the situation correctly. It’s a losing policy. I do not think that Armenia is ready to enter a new war in this situation, especially after the heavy defeat a year and a half ago. But we must show that we can suffer deprivation, but we can not give up the security of our compatriots or the right of our compatriots to live on their land,” said Ara Sahakyan.
Rumors are circulating that a tough conversation took place between the President of Artsakh and the Armenian Prime Minister recently. We asked Ara Sahakyan if he saw the disagreement of the Artsakh government with the policy pursued by the Armenian government. “I heard that before his visit to Paris, the President of Artsakh asked the prime minister to raise security issues. He did not. In general, that person does not ask any questions related to Nagorno-Karabakh; did he promise, whom did he give a promise to? Surprisingly, many contradictory things happen. Just yesterday evening, it was reported that the Prime Minister had talked to the US Secretary of State; the Armenian text says that they discussed the settlement of the Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. I did not believe it, I opened the official message of the official Washington. Karabakh does not exist. Moreover, referring to the clashes on the border between Karabakh and Azerbaijan, the US Secretary of State, on an equal footing, urges both sides to refrain from further deepening the situation. The NKR issue is not mentioned at all. Now I do not know… it was mentioned … I believe the text of the United States more. They are clear. It is possible that only the Armenian side has raised the issue, but in our text it is written that the parties are… it is inadmissible, it is a deception, it is not allowed. You know what those illusions end with,” said Ara Sahakyan.
He also noted that these authorities should not think that they are better than the Armenian leaders of the Soviet years- Alexander Myasnikyan, Grigory Harutyunov, Yakov Zarubyan, Anton Kochinyan, Karen Demirchyan, and Suren Harutyunyan. “They were more patriotic and more effective, because above all, even in that restricted Soviet environment, they worked with the support of the society. Letters to intellectuals, involvement of scientists, support to young people, participation of great Armenians living in Moscow in these issues. These authorities should know that the settlement of the NKR conflict is not possible only with government resources. The participation of the whole Armenian people must be ensured. Only then, and at the cost of long-term suffering, can some progress be made. This is not only the monopoly of the government, this is a national issue, and there is still a chance to cooperate with the opposition and use the opposition’s resources.”
Read also
Nelly GRIGORYAN
