I Know There Were Opportunities to Stop the War Several Times - Robert Kocharian

Russian President Vladimir Putin recounted an incident, but I am convinced and know that there were opportunities to stop the war several times. This was stated by the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, in an interview with the ‘5th Channel’ TV station on December 4, referring to Putin's statement that on October 19 he was still able to persuade Aliyev to stop the war, but Nikol Pashinyan refused.

“I would like to add one thing to the first part of your question. He narrated a specific incident, but I am assured and know that there were several opportunities to halt the war, and certain concessions were expected. Our government, knowing how all this would end, did not take that step—due to the concern of not being labeled—and ended up with the worst possible outcome.

By the way, let me add something, since there has been recent discussion about whether Shushi was always included in some negotiation package. It has never been part of such a package. When discussions were made regarding the return of refugees, that 80/20 ratio was our diplomatic victory under the Madrid Principles. This related to the referendum. We insisted that the referendum regarding Karabakh should be conducted according to that ratio, because we assumed that a long time would pass, and we did not want Azerbaijan to suddenly issue passports, only to find later that there were 100,000 Azerbaijanis in Karabakh. We fixed the percentage relationship at the onset of the conflict. That was our diplomatic victory, and it wasn’t easy.

Regarding the other aspect that it was assumed that refugees were supposed to return, this too is our diplomatic victory. The word ‘proportional’ was there. There was absolutely no Armenian text; the decisions existed in English and Russian. Perhaps our officials do not speak Russian well, and maybe that is the reason. But that proportional return assumed the following: 350,000 Armenians left Azerbaijan, and about 40,000 Azerbaijanis left during the conflict from Karabakh. In general, in any negotiation process, no one can say they oppose the return of refugees. It simply becomes a concern for the international community. Now, what have we offered, and what have we achieved? We stated that the Azerbaijanis who left Karabakh cannot have more rights than the Armenians who left Baku or Ganja. If we talk about return, this proportionality suggests that for every Armenian who returns to Baku or Ganja, the Azerbaijanis can return to Karabakh in a 1 to 7 ratio, approximately 350,000 against 40,000. And this was our diplomatic victory, which had serious justification behind it. The co-chairs could not tell us that no, the Azerbaijani refugees from Baku have fewer rights. This is it. But as always, they try to cling to bubbles and concoct stories,” he said.