Each Armenian Should Think of Armenia as Their Home: President of Armenia to Russian-Armenian Community

In a private visit to Moscow, the President of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, met with a group of representatives from the Russian-Armenian community. According to the Public Relations Department of the President's Office, the participants of the meeting sought direct information from the President regarding the latest developments around Artsakh and the situation in Armenia, as well as possible ways out of the current impasse, presenting their suggestions as well.

“These days are very difficult for all of us,” stated President Armen Sarkissian in his speech. “As President, my duty is to speak with the people, no matter where they are located. Each one of us carries great pain in our hearts and minds; we carry that pain and difficulty with us every day. This pain is not only that of those from Artsakh or those from Armenia; it is the pain of all of us.”

The President mentioned that before coming to Moscow, he visited several Arab countries and also met with representatives of the Armenian community. “In every community we meet, we share our pain. Many have anger and demands. It is the President's duty to listen to everyone and share observations,” he emphasized, noting that the pain and loss are extremely vast, not only regarding significant parts of Artsakh but also the loss of thousands of young Armenians, many injuries, and various huge difficulties.

President Sarkissian reiterated that we must stand up, which is possible if we join hands, forget our differences, and do not divide ourselves into black and white; we must understand that we are all Armenians, with diverse thoughts and views. “All our friends are saddened that we lost in the war, but everyone will respect us if we can stand up and walk afterward, moving forward with the thoughts we have gained from this defeat and the lessons learned from mistakes, rebuilding a country we can all be proud of and creating a victorious army.”

The participants raised various questions for the President. Concerns were expressed about the war, its course, and the content of the document signed as a supposed end to it. It was also noted that the current government should resign, as what is happening in Armenia is a national disaster. There was talk of a lack of trust in the government regarding its ability to revive the country, especially since the government itself admits to having made mistakes and incorrectly assessed the situation.

Questions were addressed to the President regarding his recent proposal that snap parliamentary elections should be held and that a national consensus government should be established in the meantime. Dissatisfaction with both the President and the presidential institution was also expressed, while it was noted that the presidency is the only institution in Armenia that has clearly articulated its stance and called for the government to resign.

It was said that during the war, the diaspora showed unprecedented unity and dedication and is now facing deep disappointment, especially when seeing that uncertainty continues and there is no clear plan to overcome the crisis. There was an expression of the view that the resignation of the government and the creation of a consensus government would be a catalyst for restoring trust. A suggestion was also made to deepen relations with Russia.

Responding to the emotional questions directed at him, the President acknowledged the great pain of loss and the huge scale of misfortune, understanding the feelings, anger, and criticism of the people. “Our young people are indeed heroes. Thousands of lives were lost, which is a tragedy. We have a large number of injuries. The situation in hospitals is very severe, and now no one pays attention to coronavirus anymore.”

The President mentioned that we have suffered defeats in several wars. “First, the demographic war; there has been no population growth since the ceasefire in 1994. When a soldier is standing at the border, he constantly looks at what is behind him. If there is emptiness there, it is difficult for even a highly spirited Armenian soldier. We needed to populate that area,” stated the President.

According to him, we have also lost in the informational war. “The Azerbaijanis and Turks were seriously prepared for this. This war continues today, they are attacking us. We did not engage with this, and that is why we lost. In Armenia today, we are attacking each other instead of uniting.”

The President noted that 26 years ago, we truly had the strongest army in the region. “We built our army with volunteers, but by the end of the war, we had a regular army. Our army at that time was technologically better than the Azerbaijani one. In the following years, Azerbaijan spent colossal amounts of money on strengthening itself, while we were still living on the glory of the past; that is why in this war they had drones, and we did not. The next war will involve artificial intelligence participation.”

The President said we need to engage in science and new technologies, and in education so that we do not suffer defeats again. Summarizing the post-war situation in the country, President Armen Sarkissian emphasized, “In any country where such a great tragedy occurs, there is a solution: the government that has led to this must go. If a politician is strong, he can return later. The last elections were 2.5 years ago, when the country was completely different; now we are living in another country. We cannot assess the crisis based solely on the number of people in a public square. I do not agree at all that the crisis should be assessed solely by the number of people gathered in the square. If no one were in the square, would that mean there is no crisis? Look around us; we are all in a crisis situation. It is not a crisis of the government or the state, but a crisis of the nation: legal, psychological, financial, economic, humanitarian. Not everyone will return to Artsakh; some will remain in Armenia. Who will take care of them or support them? This means that first and foremost, we must accept that we have a crisis, which means we cannot continue as we did before. Armenia is no longer the same country. It is even different from what Armenia was on September 27.”

The President outlined a civil path: snap elections and a temporary national unity government. “This does not mean that every party must have a minister, but rather that a respected individual from all of them is forming a government, and it is preferable that this government is technocratic. This government should work for six months or a year until new elections, when people will mandate some force again. During this period, a referendum must also be conducted. The Constitution must be changed or made more humane,” he asserted.

Addressing the fact that he learned about the signing of the tripartite statement regarding Artsakh from the press, President Sarkissian expressed, “I believe this is a destruction of statehood. It has been deteriorating not just on that one day but for many years. The greatest sorrow for me is that over these 2.5 years, only about 5 percent of my potential has been utilized. Not because I did not offer or insist, but because such are our Constitution and state.”

President Sarkissian stated that there are no mechanisms for checks and balances in the current Constitution. “Every constitution, whether presidential or parliamentary, must include balances and checks, restraint mechanisms, so that no one, be it a president or prime minister, adopts decisions that are national and very important. All of this must be balanced. Our Constitution is absolutely unbalanced,” he claimed.

He asserted the need for new elections alongside discussions about a referendum and constitutional amendments or improvements to the current Constitution. “There should be balance among the parliament, the government, and the presidential institution,” the President stated, pointing out, “I believe that even if we remain a parliamentary country, the president should be elected by the people. In our country, all positions are appointed by parliament, and where is the balance? Why are we surprised that we have what we have?”

What is to be done next? What is the next step? “Since November 10, I have invited representatives of all political forces to my place,” said President Sarkissian. “There exists a space where we can gather. First and foremost, I, as President, have proposed this. I have very few powers, but the presidency is for such days. Perhaps, according to this bad Constitution, my role is to be the person who can help get out of this situation. Throughout these years, I have consistently tried not to violate the laws and Constitution. I have not violated them for these two years—at the expense of my nerves.”

Speaking about the support shown by the diaspora and their relations, President Sarkissian specifically stated that our nation has only one asset and wealth—we have each other. “However, according to the Constitution, a person must have only Armenian citizenship and live in Armenia for four years to become a member of the Armenian parliament. I can name twenty talented doctors who could become ministers of Armenia. We have built the Berlin Wall between Armenia and the diaspora ourselves. The time has come to tear down that wall. Our diaspora has become a means of receiving money—send funds, but what will happen afterward, how will they be spent, is none of your concern. We have reached this point. After all this, if we continue to live like this, God help us.”

Responding to the question of who could be the next Prime Minister, the President particularly noted, “We always tie the solutions to our problems to some individual. This is ingrained within us. In other words, when someone becomes a minister, then he thinks that the ministry is his and the people also believe that the ministry belongs to him. That’s why, very often, ministries do not work as institutions but rather operate as the property of that person. A country cannot win a war without strong institutions. During the war, all institutions must work together. It isn’t just the Ministry of Defense or the General Staff; everyone must operate. So where are our institutions? Today we see how many things are not working, and if we do not change, they will not be able to work. I, you can propose candidates for prime minister, but we must not tie solutions to individuals. Especially now when there will be a temporary government if the Prime Minister agrees. This temporary government must have an agenda regarding what it will be addressing. Who wants to become the Prime Minister? Look at the vast volume of these problems; it is a huge burden. He must be an honest person, and we all must help him. There is no one person in the world who can stand this country back up alone. We all must engage in this, we need to have a program and the support of our true friends, first of all, Russia. There is a presidential institution. The President does not wish to become Prime Minister; I have no ambitions; I am not a competitor for anyone. I want our country to be stable because an unstable country means that a new war will start tomorrow. I see my role as helping our community get out of this difficult situation,” stated Armen Sarkissian.

Talking about overcoming the crisis, the President highlighted that the most important issue is the development of the economy, because all other issues will be connected to the economy. “We must build a modern economy. As the first point, I would mention education. The military and medical fields are built on the foundation of education,” said the President of Armenia. “Armenia should not just sell brandy; we should also sell technology. The future of our country is tied to technology and agriculture. Food security is also very important. We must agree with Russia that our students come here to study under the same conditions as Russian citizens, just as it was done in Soviet times. We must collaborate with everyone. To build our own, we must take the best from around the world. For all this, we must involve those who are the best, so that each Armenian thinks of Armenia as their home—that our new programs are not just words.”

Summarizing the meeting, the President noted that it was important primarily for hearing the compatriots. “The answers to questions must be given by all of us together,” stated the President. “Today is difficult for all of us; we all must get out of this situation together. It can be described in two main words: unity, dignity. We may lose in war, but we have no right to lose our dignity. Our strength must be that in these difficult conditions, we stand up in a unified manner. We have legends, and the worst thing is when you start to believe your invented legend. This leads to the situation where instead of building the army, we believe we have an army; instead of believing we have an economy, we start to believe we have one, and we start to believe we have a free press…”

Following the President's remarks, one of the meeting participants responded, “You cannot imagine, right now we are all talking here, while half an hour ago, the Yerevan press wrote that you were welcomed in the church courtyard with cries of 'traitor,' and that hardly anyone came to your meeting, and those who did left the meeting.” - “You probably know who the writers are,” responded President Armen Sarkissian.