The legislators of Artsakh demand from the Armenian authorities to give up “their current catastrophic position.” “No government has the right to lower the bar of negotiation to an unacceptable status for Artsakh under the pretext of ‘peace’, as well as to the internationally recognized right to self-determination,” the NKR National Assembly statement reads. Meanwhile, the Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Aghajanyan claims, “Our colleagues probably did not understand the content of the Prime Minister’s speech well, otherwise I can not find any explanation for the basis of that statement.”
The guest of Aravot’s “Areresum (Confrontation)” program, political technologist Karen Kocharyan remarked in this regard, “It seems to me that Eduard Aghajanyan has been working on the ‘Nikol Pashinyan-Armenian Nation’ explanatory dictionary for 4 years already. Because when Nikol Pashinyan said that ‘the time has come for the citizens to get revenge,’ the same Eduard Aghajanyan appeared on the air and said that you did not understand well what Nikol Pashinyan said. That is, every time the whole nation ‘does not understand well,’ Eduard Aghajanyan comes out and says that you did not understand, but he does not say what Pashinyan actually said so we can understand. Well, suppose they did not understand well. What does he mean? What did he mean, for example, by “lowering the bar of negotiations”?”
While presenting the 2021 annual report on the results of the implementation of the RA Government’s program, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, “Today, the international community is telling us again, ‘Lower the bar on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh a little; you will ensure great international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh.’ And he added, “Otherwise,’” says the international community, ‘please do not rely on us, not because we do not want to help you, but because we can not help you.’
“They did not understand in Artsakh, Armenia, or the Diaspora. No one understood well. In that case, in detail, maybe you can explain it ‘with your fingers,’” Karen Kocharyan mocked. “Maybe they are idiots, nobody understands anything. Nikol Pashinyan is such a genius that his thoughts must be explained by all means.” The other guest of the “Areresum” program, political scientist Armen Vardanyan, did not agree that lowering the bar means giving away Artsakh. “At this stage, for tactical reasons, Pashinyan is softening his rhetoric a bit, he is acting from a slightly more moderate position.”
Read also
According to Armen Vardanyan’s analysis, “Most likely, this is a big game by the Armenian authorities where there is a role distribution. And I think that in any case, a very difficult situation has been created and there is no need to act from a more pious position in the negotiations. By the way, if we look at the history, Azerbaijan has passed the same way. After the signing of the ceasefire in 1994, Azerbaijan did not immediately set such high standards in negotiations. Heydar Aliyev made very moderate demands.”
The political scientist thinks, “Now they are just taking time to see what will change in the world, because the Russia-Ukraine war can even change the world order. And a lot will depend on the outcome of this war. That is why they are in a more expectant state at this stage, and this is a simple maneuver.” Meanwhile, Pashinyan said, “The signing of a peace agreement with Azerbaijan as soon as possible is part of our plans.” Karen Kocharyan objected, “Nobody looks at their plans․․․ In the conflict, he is just a figure that is being played.”
Anna ISRAELYAN
