If This Is a Defeat That Arose Over 2 Years or 2 Months, Let's Prove It. Nikol Pashinyan

Anyone, regardless of biography, name, or surname, can say that if they were the head of the country, Azerbaijan would not have dared to attack. This was stated by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in an interview with 1in.am, responding to the question of what basis the second president makes the claim that if he were the head of state, we would not have suffered this defeat.

“What I am saying may seem a bit ridiculous, but anyone who was not the leader of Armenia in September, October, or November 2020 can say the same thing. And no one can prove the opposite. Should we ask? Anyone, regardless of their biography, name, or surname, can say that if I were in power, Azerbaijan would not have dared to attack. We would not have lost. And so on. But we must also genuinely understand the deep origins of the defeat. Fine, if this is a defeat that arose over a two-year or two-month period, let's register and prove that,” he stated.

Regarding the truth about the war, the Prime Minister mentioned that this process is currently taking place. “There is analytical work going on both in the Ministry of Defense and in the General Staff, which is very important. Of course, you are also aware that there are over 1000 criminal cases on various grounds. This does not mean that all those 1000 cases will go to court, and there will be a verdict. But I mean, this is a process of investigation that is already taking place.

Returning to my previous question, look, for example, at the publicly available facts that we can consider. For instance, in 2019, compared to 2018, for the first time, our government presented the state budget. And defense and military expenditures in the Republic of Armenia have increased by about 23 percent, approximately 50 billion drams. One of our first actions was to improve the combat readiness of the Armed Forces,” he noted.

In response to the question of whether he knew that a war was inevitable, N. Pashinyan said, “You know, today we can look back and see, for example, what the rejected one said in April 2018. Essentially, he said that the negotiation process was stalled and that we should no longer hope that Azerbaijan would not attempt to resolve the issue militarily. In other words, the negotiation process was at a deadlock, and we should no longer hope that Azerbaijan would not attack. That is, until the end, it was possible to hope. But after that, it was no longer possible to hope. But let’s generally look at the negotiation process on the Karabakh issue and what phases we have gone through.”

The commentator reminded that the third president said that we left a program for purchasing drones in the military budget, which was to be implemented between 2018-2020. “There has been no change in the plan for the purchase of weapons and equipment. And those who claimed that there was such a change have denied what they publicly stated. But it is very important to note, what did the former chief of staff say? Fine, we write that we need to buy. But who will sell us the quality equipment that we need? This is also an important question. And on the way to acquiring that equipment, political and diplomatic steps are taken that may not be accepted unambiguously by our allies and friends, and so on, and so forth. It is very important to record, for example, after I was elected Prime Minister, what steps I took regarding the army and the Armed Forces: I became Prime Minister by revolution. And I have pursued the most conservative policy in the area of the Armed Forces. I appointed a person as Minister of Defense who had been the first deputy minister of defense for many years during the reign of the rejected one and was the only person who had ministerial status in the rejected government of 2018 and continued to have ministerial status in my government,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The commentator noted that the conservatism mentioned by the Prime Minister is not welcomed by many today. “Because I thought that in such a geopolitical situation that we have, making revolutionary interventions in the army could bring very negative consequences. I mean, the army we had in 2020 is the same army we had in 2018, with the difference that salaries of officers and soldiers have increased, military expenditures have risen by 20 percent or more. In one year, military expenditures have increased by 20 percent or more. And we have resolved many issues, starting from basic needs, forgive my expression, from underwear to food, equipment, and so forth. And my presumption of the activities of the Armed Forces was that political and revolutionary interventions should not take place there at all,” said Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.