On October 19, Pashinyan Said the Price for Stopping the War is Handing Over 5+2 Regions: Ishkhan Saghatelyan

Representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, announced that he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan four times during the war, two of which included representatives from the ARF and the other two involved parliamentary opposition forces. In a video posted on his Facebook page, Saghatelyan shared details about these meetings.

“The first meeting took place on October 1, and the second one was between October 6-8. I was present at the first meeting along with Hrant Margaryan and Armen Rustamyan, while the second meeting included myself, ARF Bureau representative Hakob Ter-Khachaturyan, and Armen Rustamyan. These meetings occurred between us and Nikol Pashinyan at the government office,” he stated, emphasizing that the primary goal of these meetings was to coordinate their actions with the state through their proposals, advice, and assessments of the situation.

According to Saghatelyan, during the first meeting, they highlighted the importance of unifying the backline and the people, stressing that it was crucial for victory. Addressing the meeting with opposition forces on October 12, Saghatelyan recounted that Pashinyan mentioned we have suffered losses, losing Talish and Mataghis, and that battles are ongoing near Hadrut.

“I interrupted him and said that Hadrut has been surrendered. He argued with me, asking where I got that information, to which I replied it was clear information. About half an hour later, they brought him some report, and he read that battles were supposedly still ongoing in Hadrut. During that meeting, I told him that if we win, all the glory is yours, but if we lose, you are the sole responsible one. The real number of casualties was also brought up during this meeting, which differed from the numbers previously announced,” Saghatelyan noted.

On October 16, Saghatelyan convened a meeting with opposition forces, during which they decided to establish an operational headquarters for military-political issues, which should involve former presidents of Artsakh, former foreign ministers, defense ministers, and former chiefs of the General Staff, aiming to achieve breakthroughs both on the battlefield and in foreign policy.

“In honor of these people, everyone agreed to create this body and take responsibility. This means everyone was ready to stand alongside Pashinyan, rather than take the country out of his hands. However, this proposal was rejected by Pashinyan because we were fighting for defeat, not for victory,” Ishkhan Saghatelyan stated.

The next meeting with the parliamentary opposition forces took place on October 19, during which Pashinyan said, “I have a proposal to stop the war, and the price for that is handing over 5+2 regions. There is no other way; it is impossible to achieve a breakthrough on the front.” Saghatelyan remarked that he asked about the status of the situation, to which Pashinyan replied that there was none. “I told him that after 23 days of saying 'we will win,' you are going to sign a capitulation document and have put the country in front of a catastrophe,” Saghatelyan added. For more details, see the video.