“We now have a humanitarian tragedy, many refugees from the villages occupied by the Azerbaijani army; people are in fear and terror; it is already the third day without electricity, hot food, and medicine; there are many injured people, the shooting continued since morning. An eight-year-old child’s heart exploded from the bombardment; people are on the verge of physical annihilation,” said former Minister of State of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan, answering Ksenia Sobchak’s question on the “#Ostorozhno_Novosti-Caution news” program, what is the current situation in Artsakh.
To the question: How did they accept the capitulation of Artsakh? The former Minister of State answered this way. “It is a tragedy; no one can accept such things calmly; people are in a tragedy, deprived of the opportunity to live in their land.”
To Sobchak’s observation that reports are spreading that Russian peacekeepers have refused to guarantee the safe transportation of civilians, and Azerbaijanis are also refusing to provide them with a humanitarian corridor, Ruben Vardanyan replied that negotiations are still underway on various scenarios, there are many problems, including the bodies transfer. Noting that Margarita Simonyan and other Armenians of Russia blame Pashinyan for everything and the comments about Armenians are sarcastic, Ksenia Sobchak asked what Ruben Vardanyan thinks about that.
“I don’t want to comment on anything; it’s such a situation that it doesn’t make sense to comment on one another; people can’t find their relatives, around 100 people are missing, families have victims. In general, I don’t want to comment on the cynicism among people living outside the borders of Artsakh, which use this situation, is not ethical,” he said.
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Sobchak asked whether Russia could help and whether it is worth counting on Russia in today’s conditions. In response, Ruben Vardanyan said Russia could help, and people were upset that the Russian peacekeepers could not stop the conflict.
“You know that Russian peacekeepers also died in this situation. It was a difficult situation for Russia. Also, Armenia didn’t help while being the guarantor of Artsakh’s security; it didn’t help the West, which quietly watches how people are being destroyed and violates the internationally established norms; sanctions were not applied. There is disappointment both to the international community and Russia that did not stop this slaughter.”
Regarding his resignation from his position at the request of Baku, Ruben Vardanyan said that the purpose of coming to Artsakh was to unite people around a common idea, which received a negative response from Azerbaijanis. He also emphasized that there was tremendous pressure from both Azerbaijan and Turkey. He added that he would not leave Artsakh because the Motherland must be protected, if necessary, die for it, and the right to live must be fought for.
“You are not a poor person, you are not under sanctions, and you could live peacefully in Europe, but you remained in Artsakh without guarantees of personal safety; why are you doing this?” asked Ksenia Sobchak. Ruben Vardanyan mentioned that in the interview given to “Dozhd,” he already discussed what the Motherland is. He emphasized that it was not easy for him to make such a decision. “A year ago, I realized what consequences this could have for me and my family; on the other hand, if you find it important, you feel calm and strong, convinced that you are doing something right… You won’t be ashamed to look your grandson in the eyes and say: I did my best, I tried…”
To the question: can we say this is the end of the thousand-year presence of Armenians in Artsakh? Ruben Vardanyan gave a negative answer, saying that Artsakh is a sacred land for Armenians, and everything should be done for the people to live there to preserve their Armenian roots and heritage. The presenter asked if this ended Russian influence in the South Caucasus. “I am not the addressee of the question; I am not a political scientist, I am not an expert, I do not know. I only know Russia likes to create problems and solve them bravely. I don’t understand who and why made such a decision; let it be left to their conscience,” said Ruben Vardanyan at the end of the interview.
Prepared by Gohar HAKOBYAN
