It Is Very Easy to Be a Man in Closed Halls: I Expect Robert Kocharian and Levon Ter-Petrosyan for a Live Debate, Says Nikol Pashinyan

I am expecting both Robert Kocharian and Ter-Petrosyan for a live televised debate on June 18, just before the elections. Nikol Pashinyan made this statement today at the party's office in Aparan during the pre-election campaign.

“It is easy to talk in closed halls, to be a man, come, we will stand face to face, we will talk,” Pashinyan urged, adding that during this debate, they must provide explanations. “Yes, Robert Kocharian must explain why he left Nagorno-Karabakh out of the negotiation process in 1997-98, and this is where the problems began... Exclusion from the negotiation process means turning the issue into a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. And that logic develops, suggesting that if you want land, then you must give land. This is where the treacherous plan of handing over Meghri to Azerbaijan originates. And that program was deceitfully carried out by Robert Kocharian and discussed in the meetings of Armenia's Security Council. The negotiation packages concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh issue are just a few pages, but within those few pages and that history, there are so many nuances that it is very important for citizens to acknowledge those nuances. I expect all former leaders of Armenia to respond to this. The debate will take place the day before the elections. And if they do not answer before the debate, they will have to respond to the questions during the debate,” he concluded.