What secret deal could there be, for example, should we sell Artsakh? David Babayan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today received a delegation led by Arthur Tovmasyan, the president of the Artsakh National Assembly. Some statements made by Pashinyan have sparked discussions. In particular, he mentioned, "The Azerbaijani military-political leadership has introduced a new component into the propaganda campaign, so to speak, the disclosure of confidential information." There is speculation on the internet about what information Pashinyan was referring to, with assumptions that his expression pertains to reports made yesterday by Hakinq․az, according to which former advisor to the Armenian Prime Minister Arsen Khachatryan organized a secret meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev.

In an interview with LURER.com, David Babayan, leader of the Conservative Party, expressed skepticism about Pashinyan's implication: "In any case, meetings between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are organized with the involvement of the co-chairs, and I don't understand what the purpose would be of secretly conducting affairs. If there is a negotiation process and a format that has been functioning for years, why should the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan meet in a different format? There is no logic to it, neither politically nor morally," he said.

During his speech, Pashinyan advised his Azerbaijani counterparts not to disseminate confidential information, suggesting that if they begin to take such steps, Azerbaijan's domestic situation may become desperately unstable. When asked if this means he did not refute the information disseminated by the Azerbaijanis and simultaneously tried to intimidate Aliyev with his own compromising material, Babayan replied: "In general, there have been various approaches to the resolution of the conflict. Remember when Aliyev once declared that he was being pressured to recognize Artsakh. Perhaps Aliyev has said something similar because what Azerbaijan is saying does not fit naturally into the philosophy of the conflict and cannot serve as a basis for the resolution of the conflict."

Referring to the discussions that secret deals are happening between Pashinyan and Aliyev, Babayan stated that he is more than convinced that this is not true: "What kind of secret deal could there be, are we supposed to sell Artsakh? If even a hair from Artsakh becomes bent, it is clear that it would signal the end of our statehood and history. There can be no secret agreements; any secret deal, especially with a country like Azerbaijan, sooner or later becomes known to the public. We must not believe the information spread by Hakinq․az as truth. If there are co-chairs, what does Khachatryan have to do with it? Are we to bypass the United States, France, and Russia? What are we hiding from whom? It is impossible for the parties to come to a common agreement while bypassing the co-chairmanship," Babayan concluded his conversation with the media.