We Could Have Avoided War: Vitaly Balasanyan on Mistakes and Future Actions

We could have avoided war. This was stated by the Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, Vitaly Balasanyan. According to Balasanyan, the Armenian authorities, represented by Nikol Pashinyan, pursued a wrong policy. “It was necessary for Artsakh to conduct its own policy while cooperating and coordinating with the political and military leadership of Armenia. Unfortunately, we could not do that.”

“There was a sovereignty issue for the Republic of Artsakh after the elections in 2020. The military-political leadership of Armenia should have done everything possible for Artsakh to establish itself as a subject,” he added.

“As a result of the erroneous policy conducted by the Armenian leadership, the alternative was war. All my analyses led to the conclusion that the alternative to Azerbaijan and Turkey was war,” he said.

Balasanyan also spoke about relations with Russia, stating that the relations between Moscow and Yerevan have been limited. “Geopolitics is experiencing rapid and unpredictable developments. We see what is happening in the world; we should have pursued a flexible policy with Iran and Russia, which were our friendly, strategic partners. We failed to do that.”

“It is not the case that everything is lost for Armenia and Artsakh. I feel great sorrow when we talk about the martyrs, but the territory of the Republic of Artsakh is not in a worse situation than it was in June 1991-93. We need to conduct proper analyses, draw lessons, and start processes both with Armenia and Russia, acting specifically as a subject,” he added.

The Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh noted that Artsakh is not mentioned as a subject in the trilateral statement. “I would like to simultaneously thank the leadership of Russia, represented by Vladimir Putin. I am informed that when the war began, Russia tried every day to prevent it. It was prevented, but with significant territorial, human, and other losses. I thank the contingent that is in Artsakh. We officially cooperate. We know where they are stationed and where they will be stationed, which is coordinated with the political authorities of Artsakh. Our cooperation is equal to equals.”