Why Was It Impossible to Avoid the 2016 War Due to the 'Flexible' Policy They Pursued: Nikol Pashinyan

Constantly circulating is the notion that we could have avoided the war with a flexible policy. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote this on his Facebook page. He specifically noted: ‘Those promoting this thesis should at least answer one question: why was it impossible to avoid the 2016 war as a result of the flexible policy they pursued, which was preceded by unprecedented escalations in 2015 and 2014?’

‘For many years, Armenia's flexible policy led to Russian proposals being circulated in January 2016, which involved the return of 7 territories (5+2) without any clarification of the status of Artsakh. Why did Russia make such a proposal? For one simple reason—due to Armenia's flexible policy, the Madrid process reached a deadlock since the status of Artsakh could only be determined with Azerbaijan's agreement. It was clear to Russia and everyone else that Azerbaijan would never agree to such a scenario (it possesses the necessary power to refuse), and therefore, it was necessary to find ways to move the process out of the deadlock,’ he stated.

‘And by the way, if some insist that the cause of the war was that Armenia’s policy after 2018 was not sufficiently pro-Russian, then why did Russian proposals emerge in the conditions of 2016's 'sufficiently pro-Russian' policy and why did the April war occur?’ he added.

‘There was only one way to avoid the war—return the territories, forgetting about the status of Artsakh. Now, of course, the supporters of this option have understandably increased in retrospect. But they do not take into account that in this case, there would also be an Azerbaijani sign at the section near Ayvazli, adjacent to Goris. Moreover, at that time, we were blamed for ‘selling the land.’ Now, with questionable statements, they endanger the lives of our captives.’

The greatest oversight of the advocates of the 'flexible' policy is that they conduct policies of avoiding war rather than preparing for war for many years. Our greatest shortcoming is that during the past two and a half years, we have not managed to reclaim enough looted funds and adequately prepare for war.