The Presence of Fanatical Jihadists, Syrians, and Other Mercenaries Complicates the Overall Picture: Armenian President

The President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, gave an interview to the respected Greek newspaper Kathimerini:

Kathimerini - The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh has transformed from a frozen conflict into a draining war over the past six weeks. Can you describe the situation on the ground and what losses the Armenian people have endured?

Armen Sarkissian - I would not call the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 'frozen' since, since the ceasefire established through Russia’s mediation between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan in 1994, the Azerbaijani side has constantly attempted to challenge and change the status quo by military means. Over nearly three decades, rather than using the negotiation table to find a lasting solution to the conflict, Azerbaijan has not only failed to refrain from regularly and deliberately violating the ceasefire regime, killing Armenian soldiers along the contact line and civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, but also secured great quantities of modern weaponry, including banned munitions, worth billions of US dollars, turning the entire region into a powder keg. Furthermore, Azerbaijan has been preparing its own people for war, whereas the Armenian side has been a proponent of peaceful resolution both then and now, often criticized by some opposition figures within the Armenian elite for being peace-loving instead of increasing military spending and hardening rhetoric. Since the early 1990s, Azerbaijan has increased its military budget tenfold and has never renounced its fiercely intolerant and militaristic rhetoric. The Azerbaijani leadership has constantly threatened to use military force against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and now we are witnessing its genocidal intentions fully in action. Peoples can have contradictions or disputes, but it is unacceptable when disagreement, even deep disagreement, escalates into a real war, where human tragedy exists on both sides. Moreover, this inhumane aggression, unleashed by Azerbaijan's undemocratic regime on September 27, received full military and political support from another undemocratic regime in Turkey. For dictatorships, the fate and well-being of their own people are irrelevant, and they do not respect basic human life, values, and dignity. An undemocratic regime, whether in Baku, Ankara, or elsewhere, builds its 'power' and 'pride' on the suffering of its own people, and therefore it is much more inhumane towards other peoples. Nagorno-Karabakh is not a conflict; rather, it is a proud people's struggle for its security, dignified life, and dignity against murders, humiliations, and suffering.

Regarding human losses of the Armenian people, the Armenian government provides official information daily and does not hide the numbers, unlike the Azerbaijani side, which offers no information about human or other losses. Any life lost on the Armenian side is extremely important to us, and the question here is not about numbers or simple mathematics. Every heartbeat on the Armenian side is invaluable to us, and we must stop the bloodshed unleashed on our soil by Azerbaijanis, Turks, and terrorist groups.

Kathimerini - Who is to blame for the violations of three consecutive temporary ceasefires and the deadlock in the Geneva negotiations mediated by the Minsk Group, particularly by Russia?

Armen Sarkissian - All three ceasefires or agreements around humanitarian ceasefires were almost immediately violated by the Azerbaijani side, which did not only continue its bombardments but also began shelling the territories of Armenia. This may seem illogical to you if you want to understand why an agreement is concluded if the Azerbaijani side does not intend to honor it and instead will immediately breach it. The logic is that it is the Azerbaijani side and not the Armenian side that unleashed this meticulously planned and organized military aggression and war, with direct involvement from Turkish generals, officers, commandos, 'Bayraktar' death machines, as well as jihadists and Syrian mercenaries, similar to those killing innocent civilians today in Paris, Vienna, or elsewhere. The same picture exists in Nagorno-Karabakh, where the professional assassins of Azerbaijan and Turkey have come out against an innocent people. Why does the Azerbaijani side sign agreements and then breach the ceasefire? Everything is very simple - the dictators in Baku and Ankara have not completed their 'mission' to 'liberate' Nagorno-Karabakh from the Armenians who have lived there for thousands of years. This action or policy is called ethnic cleansing, and this is the ultimate aim of Azerbaijan and Turkey's inhumane aggression against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. For this reason, the Azerbaijani side is not interested in stopping its genocidal policies against the innocent people but rather seeks to finish the job. Under the banner of establishing control over Nagorno-Karabakh, they want not peace but tragedy, civilian massacres, destruction of churches, hospitals, and kindergartens, and the spread of terrorism. Who would agree to live with such barbaric terrorists?

During the 25 years of negotiations, Azerbaijan has not agreed to any scenario discussed under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group, whether mediated by Russia, the USA, or France, or by all three co-chair countries together. The only option that Azerbaijan has supported was to seize Nagorno-Karabakh without Armenians. And this is what happened to my people 105 years ago in the Ottoman Empire during the Armenian Genocide. We will never allow another genocide to happen, never! This is the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Kathimerini - Your Azerbaijani counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev, claims that the conflict could have a military solution. Considering that Azerbaijan surpasses Armenia in terms of military technology and manpower, how will you prove that he is wrong?

Armen Sarkissian - My people do not need to prove anything to anyone, especially to those who see only military solutions to the conflict and commit war crimes against peaceful populations. The strength of the Armenian armed forces and the spirit of the Armenian people were evident in the first war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Here, the issue is not proving something to someone but defending our right to live and be free. Therefore, the question is not about simple calculations of numbers and quantity. We are fighting to protect our homes, homeland, children, and thousands of years of Armenian cultural heritage. This is something that some people cannot understand. This is not a territorial or religious conflict or dispute. This conflict has been imposed upon us because Nagorno-Karabakh, which was predominantly inhabited by Armenians, did not want to continue its enforced existence within Soviet Azerbaijan, thus proclaiming its independence from Azerbaijan according to all existing rules and laws, using the same processes Azerbaijan used to gain independence from the Soviet Union. The Azerbaijani side, as a true dictatorship, does not tolerate the freedoms and rights of other peoples; thus, they attempted to resolve their problem with the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh using the military equipment and manpower that you mentioned exceeds that of Armenia. They imposed a war on us and received a response and were defeated. Nothing and no one can stop a people from realizing its right to live freely and securely.

Kathimerini - Is it correct to say that Turkey’s President Erdogan encourages Baku to demonstrate the most uncompromising behavior possible? If yes, for what purpose?

Armen Sarkissian - Special attention needs to be paid to the role of Turkey in this conflict in order to understand it deeply. As I mentioned, Turkey is directly involved in the conflict with its military force and political-diplomatic support. This direct involvement increases the number of belligerent parties and internationalizes the conflict. Turkey’s proven involvement, which the Turkish side desperately denies, intensifies the conflict and dramatically increases its magnitude, intensity, and the consequences of Azerbaijan’s military aggression. The presence of fanatical jihadists and Syrian and other mercenaries complicates the overall picture further and threatens the security of the entire region, which could turn the Caucasus into a new Syria.

Turkey not only encourages Baku to become a blind murderer of innocent civilians and violate the ceasefire agreement, but it also turns Azerbaijan into its captive, transforming it into a new tool of political manipulation against Russia, the European Union, the USA, and Iran. In the short term, Azerbaijan may be pleased that Turkey is by its side and supports it in its war against peaceful Nagorno-Karabakh, but in the medium and long term, this leads to failure, and only later will Azerbaijan realize the extent to which it has become Turkey’s puppet in the Caucasus. Turkey is a regional player with expansionist ambitions and appetites but limited resources and a waning international reputation. Utilizing Azerbaijan to achieve its own goals, including provoking and encouraging wars, is the least Turkey can do within the region and beyond.

Kathimerini - Armenians and Greeks share historical and cultural ties. What do you expect from our government and our people at this difficult moment in your history?

Armen Sarkissian - Greece and the Greeks occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of Armenians. This is a mutual sentiment that some tend to characterize as a relationship of natural allies. The natural alliance between Armenians and Greeks has been tested many times over the centuries, and those ties have taken on not only historical and cultural but also civilizational forms based on feelings of sympathy between peoples, similar mindsets, historical destinies, and, in some sense, mutual attraction. The dynamics of political relations between our peoples have proven that Armenia and Greece may benefit from a common geopolitical vision and bilateral strategic relations by institutionalizing our regional positions together. A vivid example of this is the strategic trilateral partnership between Greece, Armenia, and Cyprus, which enhances our political and economic capabilities on a wider regional level. Since the threat to our interests and security stems from the same source, Greece holds strong positions within European institutions, particularly in NATO, to exert pressure on an increasingly reckless and untrustworthy Turkey. Greece can express its legitimate concerns within these frameworks and propose a package of actions to substantiate or, if necessary, present Armenia's perspective on this matter. We can unite our political weight and capacities with other allies in the West to take real measures to hold Turkey and Azerbaijan institutionally accountable for their destabilizing and destructive actions. In the context of these challenging circumstances, it is time to operate within the framework of strategic coordination.