“In any country where such a great tragedy occurs, the government must go,” President Armen Sarkissian

During a private visit to Moscow, President Armen Sarkissian of the Republic of Armenia met with a group of representatives from the Armenian community in Russia.

Summarizing the post-war situation in the country, President Armen Sarkissian specifically 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, they can return later. The last elections were 2.5 years ago, when the country was completely different; now we live in another country. One cannot evaluate a crisis simply by the number of people in the square. Under no circumstances do I agree that the crisis should be evaluated considering only the number of people gathered in the square. Would it mean that there is no crisis at all if there were no one in the square? Look around us, we are all in a crisis situation. This is not a crisis of the country or the state; it is a crisis of the nation—legal, psychological, financial, economic, humanitarian.

Not everyone will return to Artsakh, some will stay in Armenia; who will take care of or support them? This means that we must first accept that we are in a crisis, and this means that we cannot continue as before. Armenia is no longer the same country. It is even different from the Armenia that existed on September 27.

There is a civilized way—early elections, a temporary national unity government. This does not mean that every party should have a minister, but rather that a respected individual from all sides is forming the government, and it is preferable that this government be technocratic. This government should work for six months to a year until new elections, when the people will once again give a mandate to some force. During this period, a referendum should also be held. It is absolutely necessary to either change the Constitution or make this Constitution more humane.