Where is the 'Key' to the Resolution of the Karabakh Issue? Kocharian Responds

I have no desire to comment on the statements of the first president. I was the president of Armenia for 10 years, and there has been no proposal from the co-chairs that Azerbaijan would accept and Armenia would reject. This was stated today, May 25, by the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, during a press conference of the leaders of the 'Hayastan' alliance, addressing the first president's claim that the 'key' to the resolution of the Karabakh issue is in the hands of Russia.

“Throughout those 10 years, we said that we have reservations but are fundamentally ready to discuss those proposals. Azerbaijan categorically rejected those proposals. This is the best response to conclusions of this nature made by the first president,” he noted.

When asked where the 'key' to resolving the Karabakh issue lies, the second president said that this is not a question where the solution's key can be found in one place. “This is a very simplistic interpretation; it just does not work like that. There are sides to the conflict, there are involved parties, there is a trinational partnership, and there is Russia. It is clear that Russia is one of the key countries and plays a crucial role in these processes, especially considering recent developments. However, thinking that the key is placed in one place is a simplistic view that does not correspond to reality,” he stated.

In response, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a representative of the ARF Supreme Body, added, “The first president states that a coup occurred in 1998, and from there began the disaster, since there was an opportunity to resolve the Karabakh issue. I believe that the disaster of handing over Artsakh was prevented in 1998. In our country, there were two ideologies: one was to hand over Artsakh for a better life, while the other ideologized that it is possible to develop the country without concessions. The forces that came to power in 1998 proved that it is possible to develop the country without conceding.” Saghatelyan noted that in 2018, those who held this ideology came to power, but under the banner of peace, they brought war and surrendered Artsakh.