I am generally satisfied with the work done by the General Staff and personally by Yuri Khachaturov during the April War

Prior to that meeting, a ceasefire regime had already been declared. It is true that it was not 100% maintained, but nonetheless it had been declared. This was stated by Armenia’s third President Serzh Sargsyan at a press conference regarding the April War, referring to the meeting at the level of chief of general staffs in Moscow, after which large-scale military operations ceased.

“General Yuri Khachaturov (who served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia during the April War) told me that he received a call from the Chief of the General Staff of Russia, who said that the Azerbaijanis were ready to meet and discuss the ceasefire issue. Khachaturov then said that he was ready for a meeting in Tbilisi, as it is very close, and after the resumption of hostilities, he could reach Armenia in a short time, because it is obvious that the General Staff leads military operations. I have to say that it was done very well, and I am generally satisfied with the work done by the General Staff and the work done personally by Yuri Khachaturov,” Sargsyan elaborated, noting that the meeting, however, took place in Moscow.

Responding to the remark that during the period following the April War there were numerous accusations regarding the quality of weapons, fuel, and the work of the officer corps, and to the question of why there was no reaction or attitude from the authorities on a legal level, the third President of Armenia responded: “I did not see the need for that, because this misinformation or falsehood being published was circulating in very narrow circles. We regularly conducted sociological studies, and the results were satisfactory for us: over 80 percent of our society considered it a victory,” he said, noting that afterwards it was also not appropriate.

“After the events of April 2018, it was very difficult to talk about the April War in a calm environment. There was a need for people to return to a normal state over time, for that emotional situation to disappear, and for them to be able to speak calmly about what is reality. I believe we are currently working on that,” Sargsyan said.