Republican Party of Armenia

 

I believe it wouldn’t be fair to accuse me of keeping silent. After the September tragedy earlier this year this is my fifth meeting with you. During these meetings I have been ready to answer all your questions. If you didn’t ask certain questions, don’t blame me for that. Blaming is easy. 

Besides, I am the leader of a political force and I am meeting with people every day and express my opinion clearly, my opinion about the ongoing events. 

 

 

I would like to add especially since the accusations were directed at you.

 

To be honest, I saw a lot of lies and falsifications in that interview – as usual. However, I have to underline one important thing: The ruler of Armenia admitted that he had intentionally sacrificed Nagorno Karabakh. When he is talking about some kind of cudgels, for him the issue of Nagorno Karabakh was a cudgel over Armenia’s head. I couldn’t figure out what cudgels he was talking about? Or who was holding these cudgels over Armenia’s head? Co-chairs, who made five written statements about the final status of Nagorno Karabakh, that it should be decided through a free expression of will? Which country he is referring to, who is he talking about, who held a cudgel over Armenia’s head? Probably the country which supplied us with the arms worth billions dollars free of charge or with discounts, which he surrendered to Azerbaijan in full? At least, we all understood his confession, the only truth he uttered that he intentionally sacrificed Karabakh. 

 

 

He is lying. He is not an oracle to make predictions about the future. We’ve stated clearly that we possess all documents. Let him show just one document which proves what he says and let him say “this was the document which closed the Nagorno Karabakh issue.”

 

He is saying that UN Security Council was to decide how should Nagorno Karabakh organize its life before the final status would have been decided. According to him, it already predetermined an intermediate status, termination of the status quo. 

 

I repeat: Is he’s an oracle to make such suppositions? There are documents according to which the final status of Nagorno Karabakh is to be decided through a referendum. Let him say that there was no such thing and let him show any other document. We are saying that we are ready to prove it through the existing documents. 

 

I assure you and not only orally that all documents are in existence, that after Kazan nothing of essence had changed in the process of negotiations. After Kazan, always, regardless of the definitions, the final status of Nagorno Karabakh was to be decided through a referendum. 

 

 

There were changes but they didn’t change anything substantially: Nagorno Karabakh would have an opportunity to govern its own life in the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh through the elected bodies, through its own designated structures.

 

 

First, he didn’t say that he had channeled resources, he said that huge, the lion’s share of the resources had been channeled there, which is an absolute lie. What resources is he talking about? Let him be more precise. The budget of Nagorno Karabakh was being formed through their internal revenues, other means as well as through the grants provided by Armenia which made a minuscule, small part of our budget. Yes, I will not argue that there was some additional spending. Arms were purchased, etc. But it doesn’t amount to the lion’s share. This is proved by the facts. It is obvious. And even if we had to put huge resources into solving our national issue, we had to do it. Who would just give it us for free, without some spending?

 

 

I don't know how I can squeeze so many answers for one question, some journalists and cameramen may get tired and leave. First, I cannot tell which platform we are going to chose, but that we are swinging, it's a fact. 

 

In the coming year, I first of all wish us all wisdom and logic, so that we judge people and events not only based on what we hear but also based on what we see. That is to say, let's judge people based not on their words, but on their deeds. I believe that we need to stop to be enclosed in negativity and fear and bury  our national spirit and dignity. I wish we trust our abilities, believe in success, believe in victory because without it for any person to live and to work for the benefit of the society become senseless. We must trust our abilities, must believe in success and finally, and most notably, we must be worthy of the memory of our martyrs. 

 

I will do everything. We will help those who need our help. All of us, the entire Party, we have been part of and participated in every, even the smallest movement. As for initiating something, we will see. May be you, the journalists, come together and decide that I can initiate something, then I will.

 

 

You see, first of all I don’t accept as an absolute truth your information on what is written in that so-called agreement. This is one. But the notion that revanchism idea is widely spread in our society, I have doubts about that. By saying revanchism, do you imply anything bad? I have been playing chess for a long time, I live in the chess world and there have been instances when the match for the world championship has been called a match revanche. You mean those who call it that way are not smart, know nothing about the life? What does it mean – revanche? Revanche means to achieve new success.

 

The fact that there is a philosophical term “revanchist”, as well as other terms, is another matter. I don’t know how scientific that term is or was it invented by the people who have achieved certain things and want to sit on it and give nothing to others. I see nothing negative in revanche. So, was it a revanche for the Azeris? If that is the fact, so they are entitled to it and we are not? Have we reached the stage when they are entitled to everything and we to nothing? Is it a right position? Is it worth living like that, when you have no rights while the others have all the rights?

 

What is there to comment?

 

 

I don’t believe that at the moment I am such a potent force that the Azeris are afraid of me. 

 

 

I am glad you see it that way. That’s nice of you. But those who speak about it, is there an opposition in their own country or not? None? I have no idea who said it, what was said but to put the opposition, all of it together, I don’t think it’s logical.

 

 

Yes, I have held meetings with Samvel Shahramanian. As for what his advisor has said, he referred to a different document, to the document signed in October which is unrelated to the previously signed decrees. I believe that in any event Samvel Shahramanian will find a solution which will benefit our people, will not disgrace himself forever and will rule out a possibility that one person, even if president of the republic, can dissolve that republic. It just cannot be. There has been no precedent and cannot be. 

 

 

No, they are totally different, different things and are not related to each other in any way. For all that time, in times when we were making policies, did you ever hear that we had been publicly forced to do something? Without assuming, just journalists spreading rumors, and so on and on? There were plenty of such rumors, but did you ever hear threats coming from the officials from the West, or from our partners, or from the East? I don’t recall any such instance. Because we were taking steps that stemmed from the interests of our country and never engaged in adventurism. I will give you only two examples: Had we terminated our relations with CSTO, we would not have weaponry worth billions of dollars. Sure, today’s authorities call that weaponry scrap metal but we see how that scrap metal is being used skillfully, in Ukraine for instance. Had we not become a member to the Eurasian Economic Union, today…

 

Look, different circles can make assumptions but I would like to conclude my though and return to the question. Had we not become a member to the Eurasian economic Union, today Armenia’s economy would be in shambles, literally. Since you are interested in these issues, you need to see that our economy is growing, the largest exports, those are land and sea transportation means, i.e. those are probably Sepouh-1 machines that are being manufactures in ten thousands…

 

 

Really?

 

As for the production: I have never stated it publicly but now I can disclose that for almost two years I was proposing, asking first the Customs Union and then the Eurasian Economic Union and its member states to accept Armenia as its member for a very simple reason – non-membership to these structures would result in the situation which occurred in Moldova, Georgia, earlier in Ukraine and other places. In those times, the main part of our economy was agriculture, we had 300000 farms and what those people were supposed to do, where would they sell their cognac, apricot, and what not, all those greenhouses, what were they supposed to do? Could we sell tomato to Turkey or cognac to Paris? And by the way our partners at the European Union knew it well, very well. Do you think it was accidental that those circles you’ve mentioned which express the opinion that we were forced to do it, that we lied to the EU? Would the EU sign the CEPA agreement with us (Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and European Union), which is an honor for any country, if they felt deceived? 

 

 

What do you mean the public is unaware? It is not true. Because the public knew all too well that we were negotiating in parallel with the European Union and the Customs Union, the predecessor of the Eurasian Economic Union. For precisely two years. And it was not something to be kept secret: information about it appeared in the media on many occasions, besides concrete individuals came to the government building in dozens, came in and looked into the activities of different structures. How could that be kept secret? For what?

 

No, I have stated on many occasions, that it is impossible to have security in one setting, and economy in the other. It is impossible. If we could scroll our memory back to 2018, the same people who are now happy to enjoy the benefits of the Eurasian Economic Union, why would the same people who didn’t have power at the time are talking now with no restraint? Doesn’t it prove to you that those people are not guided by objective factors, objective reality but in fact are ready to jump out of their skin to get to power.

 

I would propose to speak carefully about returning to the Russian platform. We still have to see which way we swing, right or left. 

 

Thank you. And please don’t accuse me of not talking.