Onik Gasparyan is shamelessly lying, I was present at that meeting: Ruben Rubinyan

The former head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Onik Gasparyan, today responded to the acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during which he not only made insulting remarks but also made a notable statement.

He particularly mentioned, “Listen Nikol, don’t cross the boundaries of decency. I know that you are the greatest master of the cheapest shows and you cover your absolute incapacity in state governance by feeding the public with baseless emotional statements. By the way, you are very good at handing out pamphlets (although you are periodically hit in the face with pamphlets in the metro).

As for the villages of Kazakhi, I want to refresh your memory: I stated during the discussion that this issue is not related to Artsakh and it is likely that it has been intentionally reflected in the draft declaration as a diplomatic trick, to later bargain and “offer” to remove it from that draft. I also mentioned that it is necessary to negotiate and remove that point from the draft declaration. I also discussed this issue with the Director of the National Security Service, Armen Abazyan, and thanks to him and his efforts, that point was removed.”

In connection with this statement, “First News” requested a comment from Ruben Rubinyan, the chairman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee, who was also present at the meeting held in the Prime Minister’s office.

Rubinyan stated that Onik Gasparyan is simply lying: “I do not think that there are mutual accusations here; there is truth and falsehood. First, I do not think it is necessary to comment on the tone of Onik Gasparyan’s speech when he speaks about the country’s leader and his former superior. I leave that to the public’s judgment. Regarding the content, I can say that Onik Gasparyan is shamelessly lying. On November 9, I was personally present in the Prime Minister’s office at the meeting being discussed. The Prime Minister, I, Onik Gasparyan, and 7-8 other now former and current officials were present at that meeting, during which the following was discussed: there was a version of the declaration that indeed included a point about the so-called Kazakhi villages. If you recall, that very day there had been a leak in the press regarding that version. Regarding that version, Onik Gasparyan said in front of my eyes, ‘if we cannot remove it, we must agree to it.’ An hour or two or three later, in my presence in the Prime Minister’s office, Onik Gasparyan called the Prime Minister and asked him to agree to that version. And again, in my presence, the Prime Minister responded that no, I will not agree to that version under any circumstances and I will not sign the document in that form. After that, it was claimed by the Armenian side that that point was removed, and the famous declaration became known. In other words, Onik Gasparyan is simply talking lies. As a witness, I can say that Onik Gasparyan said that we must agree to it. I believe that Onik Gasparyan should stop lying, especially since there were about a dozen people present at the meeting he is speaking about, who can confirm my words.”