I Would Not Be Mistaken to Say That One of the Key Reasons for the Fall of Shushi Was the Absence of Tsarukyan's Volunteer Battalion: Pashinyan

There has been much talk about the fall of Shushi and the conspiracies surrounding it, said Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a Facebook live session. According to him, two attempts have been made to return Shushi after its fall; one was a complete failure, while in the other case, a group was able to enter Shushi. Pashinyan characterized that all the contradictions were linked to this.

“Conversations about conspiracies have already moved to the political level. I was told that Tsarukyan announced there was a conspiracy around Shushi, that on September 28, when Shushi was still standing, Russia was ready to inform peacekeepers to be deployed in Artsakh, but I did not agree at that time. I agreed at a time when Shushi had already been lost,” Pashinyan elaborated, labeling it as absurd.

The Prime Minister recalled that on October 22 and 25, he publicly stated that he supports the deployment of Russian peacekeepers. “If we are talking about a conspiracy, let’s also note that the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, when he was released from prison, announced that he would be forming a volunteer battalion and would personally lead it. However, we later saw reports and headlines indicating that Tsarukyan met with volunteers, we saw Nivas, Willys vehicles, and so on. Yet, we never saw a volunteer battalion, especially not fighting near Shushi under the leadership of Gagik Tsarukyan. Perhaps this is the reason Shushi fell. Perhaps with sufficient reserves, it would have been possible to hold Shushi. I would not be mistaken to say that one of the key reasons for the fall of Shushi was the absence of Tsarukyan's volunteer battalion in the battles for Shushi,” Pashinyan noted.

He also raised the possibility that these battalions were formed for activity within Armenia. “This fact should be verified and receive a legal assessment, which will happen,” Pashinyan promised.