The Issue of Artsakh is Closed for Armenia: Tigran Abrahamyan

The President of the Artsakh National Assembly reacted yesterday to a post by the head of Azerbaijan's Democracy and Human Rights Institute on Twitter, in which he stated that in June, Stepanakert would fall under military control. This was written on Facebook by Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the 'Hanalq' Analytical Center and former security advisor to the President of Artsakh.

“I have no intention of commenting on the response to the Azerbaijani NGO at the level of the parliament speaker or on the topic of 'straightforwardness' that has been discussed since yesterday. What concerns me more in this statement is that Arthur Tovmasyan emphasizes in his statement that 'today the guarantors of the security of the people of Artsakh are the Russian peacekeeping forces and the Artsakh army.' The authorities of Armenia and Artsakh have formed a consensus today that for Armenia, the issue of Artsakh is closed, and that Armenia's 'washing of hands' is a norm. Artsakh is registering the existing sad reality.

From a purely human perspective, I understand Mr. Tovmasyan well; this formulation was not made by chance and is a result of the recent dialogue between the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh and the consequent effects. I do not think that there is a person in Artsakh who would consider the abandonment of Armenia's mission as a guarantor of Artsakh's security as normal or natural.

It is another matter that the current authorities of Armenia have long since abandoned not only this issue but also other issues that are considered important for our people. In the statement of the National Assembly speaker, I even see internal pain that acknowledges that Armenia is no longer part of this process, and that it has left Artsakh alone, which marks the beginning of the next phase following the tragedy of 2020.

Nevertheless, despite the position of Armenia or various third countries, I must acknowledge that regardless of the policies pursued by the current authorities of independent Armenia, there are many people in Armenia and the Diaspora who consider themselves an integral part of Artsakh and bear responsibility for the future of Artsakh. Accordingly, no matter how much today's, tomorrow's, or the day after government's officials resign from their historical role in ensuring Artsakh's security, there will always be individuals, groups, and forces in our society who will be in Artsakh in case of external threats and will play their role in ensuring the protection of Artsakh and our compatriots living there,” noted Abrahamyan in his post.