The War Does Not Stop: Vanetsyan on Pashinyan's Mistakes

“Nikol Pashinyan’s biggest mistake is when he says, ‘We know the borders of Armenia with millimeter precision.’ No one in this country can know the borders of Armenia, adjusted,” stated Arthur Vanetsyan, head of the ‘Pativ Unem’ parliamentary faction and former director of the NSS, during a meeting with journalists. He emphasized that he speaks as a security sector expert and a former commander of border troops.

According to Vanetsyan, Armenia does not have a 100 percent, millimeter-precise depiction of its borders. He stressed that delimitation and demarcation are necessary processes but must have their own procedures and prerequisites. Pashinyan's statements referencing Soviet maps lack justification.

“During the Soviet Union era, Soviet Armenia only had state borders with Iran and Turkey. We had administrative borders with Azerbaijan and Georgia, which are significantly different from state borders,” noted Vanetsyan, adding that the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been drawn in blood since the 1990s.

“With one stroke of a pen, a man, who I don’t know how he came to be, has become the leader of the Republic of Armenia at this stage, signs and gives these borders away.” Vanetsyan mentioned that the border formed as a result of the war should be viewed not only in terms of the Soviet Union’s border logic or administrative boundaries but also in terms of terrain.

Vanetsyan also revealed that on June 20, 680,000 citizens believed in Nikol Pashinyan and voted for him with one goal in mind. According to Vanetsyan, citizens thought that there would be no more war. The authorities presented the opposition as revanchist forces that “wanted” war. He noted that after the elections, however, not only did the war not stop, but we also faced new casualties, new captives, and new territorial losses.

“In the first phase after the war, we had 62 captives, and after that, there were more. Just two days ago, we learned that we have at least 32 more captives, and the war does not stop,” emphasized Vanetsyan, adding that according to official data, 100,000 people have emigrated from our country.

“Two days ago, he said he found out there are 250 families in 6 villages of Syunik. At least then there were 250 families; now they too are leaving. What are you doing, are you depopulating? In the end, only Yerevan will remain, and he will stand up and say, ‘Look at the quality of the asphalt...’,” Vanetsyan said.

The government is in a state of crisis and will not be able to remain. Whether it stays for a short time, Vanetsyan noted, depends on the public response. “That man is sitting there, scared, waiting for his fate, his verdict. If we enter into dialogue with him, there is no one in the country who can defeat him in that conversation. He will say there is no document; a demand is needed for him to leave in order to save the country,” added Vanetsyan.