Serzh Sargsyan Did Not Rule Out That Aliyev Offered Money to Nikol Pashinyan

In a recent interview, Serzh Sargsyan spoke about the alleged $6 billion offer made to Lukashenko and responded to questions regarding why that money was not spent on armaments. He stated that those spreading such accusations know very well what he meant. "When I was countering Aliyev through Lukashenko, I was simply saying that Nagorno-Karabakh cannot be bargained; we cannot put our homeland up for negotiation. Those who have given their lives for the freedom and independence of Artsakh are not open for bargaining. Do you doubt that if suddenly Aliyev had agreed, we would not have been able to gather that money? I am convinced that we would have collected it in a short period of time. My response was not humorous but straightforward; if you want to negotiate, I offer a higher price," he said.

Sargsyan did not rule out the possibility that such an offer might have been made to Pashinyan as well. "In any case, it has become known that Aliyev and the capitulator have had secret negotiations, and it is known who conducted those negotiations. It is known that the person responsible for operational contact on the Armenian side handed a letter to the capitulator, who did not tear it up or say that there were unacceptable matters, but rather responded positively. I cannot assert that an offer was made there, nor can I deny it, but the development of events gives everyone reasonable grounds to have doubts. The sequence of errors that have occurred has been either intentional or a conspiracy or extreme ignorance. To reach a final conclusion, we are obliged to conduct an objective investigation, which is impossible in the case of this government," Sargsyan elaborated.

He noted that everyone has the right to have reasonable doubts. "I repeat again: everyone has the right to have reasonable doubts. What do you think is more likely: what thousands are discussing today or the story of Manvel's stolen sausage? I believe there is no one in this republic who is convinced that Manvel stole a sausage," he added.

Sargsyan emphasized multiple times that he cannot deny the possibility that Pashinyan received the same proposal. "What basis do I have to deny it? Neither the horrific events that took place during the war nor those that occurred afterwards. If Shushi is unfortunate and uncolored, if a person has the cynical audacity to claim such nonsense from the rostrum of parliament, what right do I or others have to exclude the possibility of a conspiracy? Can you imagine, without feeling pain, without remorse, without an ounce of guilt, they shamelessly justify that we gave, we gave — what do you want?"