I Do Not Negotiate with Either Azerbaijan or Russia: Armen Sarkissian on Prisoners

The President of the Republic Armen Sarkissian today held an online discussion with representatives of the Armenian Bar Association, American-Armenian lawyers Karo Ghazaryan and Garnik Kerkyon. This was reported by the press office of the President of Armenia.

Below are some excerpts from the discussion.

What parameters should the Armenian society focus on to overcome the post-war crisis we currently face?

When the war stopped and a ceasefire was established, I clearly stated in one of my first announcements that after such a large-scale war, with so many young lives lost as well as loss of territories, it is logical for the government to resign in developed, normal, democratic countries to open a practical path toward the future. In such a complex, painful, and emotional situation, the best course would be to calm emotional discussions down, and the resignation of the government would lead to that.

There should have been a classical approach – forming a new government, which could either be a national consensus government, where the main political forces unite, or a professional one, given a specific time to address the various problems we face.

It is very important for us to choose a new government, which, I repeat, would either be a national unity or a completely professional government. Here, too, the president has no instruments. The government and the prime minister decided to go a different way. I couldn’t force them; the only tool I have is my words – to try to persuade that this is a much better path than the one they have chosen.

By forming a temporary government, we could change two things within a year: the Constitution and the electoral code. As the President of the country, who has been presiding under this Constitution for three years, as a scholar and a statesman, I can confirm and prove that our Constitution does not work properly.

The war is not over. There are many problems even today, including border tensions. No one could guarantee humane and dignified behavior from our neighboring Azerbaijan. As you know, there are high tensions at the borders, and the government should take care of this, as it is the direct responsibility of the government. Under this Constitution, the president has no realistic tools to fulfill his obligations. Frankly speaking, the number of tools is zero. The president can only remind the government verbally that they must take care of our country's integrity.

Another issue is the return of prisoners. Armenia has returned Azerbaijani prisoners, while the Azerbaijani side holds several hundred captives. This several hundred is a large number because you are talking about several hundred families that are living in hell these days, with their sons or daughters held hostage by the enemy. This issue must be resolved, and any political or international tools must be used to bring them back to Armenia. As the President of the Republic, I again have no tools and do not negotiate with either the Azerbaijani or Russian sides.

The Constitution is called parliamentary, but in reality, it is a super-presidential Constitution. Today, life has brought us to a point where even the Prime Minister has publicly acknowledged that we need to change it. Representatives of the current opposition also agree that the Constitution must be changed. There are many reasons for this.

According to this Constitution, one person with his party members forms the parliament, that same person forms the government and becomes the Prime Minister, that same person elects the President of the Republic through parliament, that same person forms the Constitutional Court through parliament, and that same person forms the legal system and courts through parliament... But where are the checks and balances? They are nonexistent.

Theoretically, it doesn’t matter if you are a presidential or parliamentary country; it will work if you have checks and balances.

We have the opportunity to make Armenia stronger. First of all, we must act as one united nation and state. I believe that we chose the wrong path from the first day of the republic. I was of this opinion in the early 1990s. I knew my viewpoint differed from that of then-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan and many other colleagues. However, I have always believed that our country has one priority, one strength, one pride that can be utilized – the Armenian people. We must concentrate all our strength on serving the people and the state.

The key is to use your strength. But what is our strength? Our real value is our people, the talented individuals scattered around the world, who, working in various societies and cultural environments, have accumulated great knowledge. This is a great asset. If I were an executive president, one of the first things I would do is change the Constitution to remove all the barriers, as we have built the “Berlin Wall” between the Diaspora and Armenia. You can come to Armenia, give money, do charity or invest, but you cannot think about having any influence on politics.

We need to break this stereotype and build a society where the entire Armenian people are involved. We are not utilizing our strength at all today. We are like a Gulf state that has decided not to use its vast oil reserves.

There should be a bridge that unites Armenia and Artsakh; it’s not only about the Lachin corridor, but an actual bridge. As president, as a statesman, as a master of negotiations, you must have a solution for this. What is it?

In one word, the solution is “The Fourth Republic.” I have written about this; the essence is as follows: we did many things right in the Third Republic; we won a war, built a state, but we must accept that we have also done many wrong things, and that list is long.

For years we have lived in a world where we have been pretending. Pretending that Armenia has a strong information technology (IT) sector. However, I tell you as an IT specialist that we are not an IT country. The number of specialists in this field is about 6-10 thousand. However, we pretend and believe we are an IT country. Of course, we have fantastic schools, but they are just islands.

I would be proud if a child living on the border could receive the same education as a child in Yerevan. And talented children are not only born in the center of Yerevan but everywhere; we must find those children, discover their talents, and for that, high-quality education is necessary. We won the war years ago because we were a few years ahead of Azerbaijan and were able to build a professional army thanks to professional Armenian soldiers.

When I became President, I repeatedly said that we are not living normally; more than half of Armenia's population lives in Yerevan. This is terrible, but that is what we have.

For 3 years I have been repeating – can you imagine that in 2018, when I became president, the number of visitors to Artsakh was 13 thousand? And this is the Artsakh we fought for and lost lives for. And this applies not only to Artsakh but also to Gyumri and Goris. How did we think to keep Artsakh when, according to official 1994 data, the population was 140 thousand, and in 2020 it was 120 thousand? Meanwhile, that number should have tripled.

There are so many things we need to do right, and if we do them right, we will reach the Fourth Republic.

Before this interview, when you wrote to me about the topics to be discussed, I put down some of my thoughts; let me read an excerpt. “We must have a national ideology – where we are heading, what we are achieving, what kind of country we will have. This ideology must turn into a vision, the vision into a strategy, and the strategy into an action plan. It is very important to recognize, accept, or redefine the national ideology – who we are in the world. We must have the courage to admit our own mistakes, weaknesses, to be rational and responsible to accept reality, and not live in a world of dreams. To be better collectively and individually. All Armenians around the world must be united. And that’s possible through a strong vision, hard work, professionalism, and responsibility. There must be love for our homeland, for one another, and for our mission, there must be a will to collaborate and learn, and there must be dedication and discipline. All this is essential for building a new – Fourth Republic – even from scratch.”

If we continue to live as we have until now, we will not succeed. We will not defend Artsakh, we will not strengthen Armenia, and we will not fortify our country and state. We have the opportunity because, in the 21st century, the world's natural resources will be secondary. Now the individual’s strength is crucial. Smart countries use their strengths to enhance human potential. Our people cannot live without a mission. We must have a mission. And the Fourth Republic can be a tool for making that mission a reality. And in that mission, being absolutely modern is crucial. Today, the strength is artificial intelligence, technologies.

I have a presidential initiative called ATOM. Within this framework, I am trying to help develop new technologies, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. We have reached agreements with many companies, including leading French and American companies; about 15 companies have pre-signed agreements. This is the path to victory tomorrow. We must also invest in biotechnology.

We must confront reality, accept it, work hard to achieve what we aspire to.

What is the mission of the Fourth Republic... You cannot have a Fourth Republic that mainly focuses only on internal issues. Unfortunately, during the Third Republic, we mostly concentrated on our internal problems – even dividing ourselves from the Diaspora. Today, people are busy with elections; I hope it will bring some stability and clarity about the future of the country, resolving our issues by June 21. As President, I will do everything, using my main tools, which are my words (because I have no other tools), to ensure that the country has much more humane, stable elections without civil strife and many other misfortunes.

The Third Republic has generally built a closed society – closing itself off from the Diaspora and others. We have diplomacy, good relations with many countries. However, what we need entirely transcends diplomacy, it’s a completely different scale because this world is different.

The world has changed, and in this new world, ideas, scientific discoveries, and technologies will reign. They will also reign in diplomacy. Armenia must be much more enthusiastic in its diplomacy. That diplomacy must be based on our identity, our vision, our mission, and utilize the entire nation’s potential, primarily the Diaspora, which we are not doing. We must have completely different approaches.

Russia is a friend of Armenia. You have to work ten times harder to maintain that friendship. This is similar to a tree; if you do not water it, it will wither. We need to deepen our relations with the world's major powers, our friendly countries in the West and the East. We must cooperate closely with the Gulf countries as well. I personally use my connections with the Gulf countries for my country. We are not clear on what our policy is regarding where Armenia is in the Gulf, and what the Gulf can do for Armenia.

It is crucial to redefine our political strategy and our diplomacy. To do this, you must again redefine what your identity, mission, and strategy are, what we want to achieve in 30 years. If we do not define this, we will not go anywhere. Our nation cannot live without a mission. The Fourth Republic can become a tool for realizing that mission.

The strength of tomorrow and even today is artificial intelligence and technologies. We must be modern and make Armenia a center for artificial intelligence. This is the path to tomorrow’s victory: we must confront reality, accept it, and work hard to achieve the desired results.

What do you think, can we solve the issues of Syunik today? And are you optimistic?

I still believe today that if you have a strong, solid government, you can protect Syunik and solve the issues. When I speak of strength, I do not mean only the army. It will take us years to restore the army’s strength. Secondly, we must have a strong, solid voice when negotiating around the current situation. We need a somewhat different diplomacy here. We must redefine our diplomatic tools and the strength of our voice and understand how to do all this. And I find this possible.

We must look at reality, see how strong we are, what our weaknesses are, and what we should do to truly become a strong state. Otherwise, we will deceive ourselves. And that is the worst possible thing to do – to lie.

I see great potential in which we can build a powerful state in the 21st century that focuses not on the past but on the future. All past problems will be solved if we have a strong presence in the future. I believe that our nation can build a strong Armenia that will protect not only itself and Artsakh but also the rights of the entire Diaspora. I see that potential and I am here to work hard for it.

It is painful for me to realize that I am using at most 5-10% of my capabilities. I could do much more, including in terms of diplomacy. This, of course, does not add to my optimism; I remain optimistic because I believe we can build the Fourth Republic together.