The Lack of Principles Has Its Limits: Ter-Petrosyan's Office

The head of the office of the First President of Armenia, Avetis Avagyan, responded to the speech of Vigen Khachatryan, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction, in the National Assembly, in which he expressed his disagreement with Levon Ter-Petrosyan's Nagorno-Karabakh policy.

“Vigen Khachatryan has made nonsensical statements in the National Assembly, expressing his disagreement with Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s Nagorno-Karabakh policy. On this occasion, we would like to remind the following facts:

1. In the 1995 National Assembly elections, the Ramkavar-Azatakan (Liberal-Democratic) party, led by Vigen Khachatryan, was part of the 'Republic' bloc supporting L. Ter-Petrosyan. During this time, he did not express any objections to Ter-Petrosyan's Nagorno-Karabakh policy, nor did he do so after.
2. After the elections, based on the nomination from the 'Republic' faction, he held the positions of Deputy Chairman and then Chairman of the National Assembly’s legal and state commission, during which he also did not change his attitude towards Ter-Petrosyan's Nagorno-Karabakh policy.
3. In the presidential elections of 1996, the party led by him nominated Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a candidate for President of the Republic, which indicates that at that time he also had no disagreements with Ter-Petrosyan's Nagorno-Karabakh policy.
4. In 1997, Vigen Khachatryan did not respond at all to Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s programmatic article 'War or Peace: The Time to Be Serious,' which can only signify agreement.
5. In February 1998, after the resignation of the First President, he resigned from the position of Chairman of the National Assembly commission in solidarity with Ter-Petrosyan.

This all shows that Vigen Khachatryan's statements today have no connection with principles and past convictions and can be explained purely by the conjunctural considerations of the moment.

We find it unnecessary to republish Vigen Khachatryan's article on the nomination of Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a candidate for President of Armenia by the Ramkavar-Azatakan (Liberal-Democratic) party.

The Liberal-Democratic Party nominated Levon Ter-Petrosyan as a candidate at its congress based on several important factors. First and foremost, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, as the head of state, implements the principles that align with our party's beliefs: liberalism and democracy. These principles apply to the development of the economy, the formation of the state system, and the strengthening of the democratic system. That is, ideologically, he is a politically compatible figure for us.

The second, equally important factor is that in this transitional and reform period, especially as it is not yet complete, a change in the head of state is undesirable. There are still many problems to resolve, and it can be said that we are halfway through. Time is needed to finalize these issues. It is not a goal in itself to see the same person at the head of the state. But if he has demonstrated himself well in previous periods, it is natural that change is undesirable.

We believe that as the head of state, Levon Ter-Petrosyan has largely justified himself. Under his leadership, Armenia gained certain recognition. A very balanced foreign policy was implemented. True, there are many shortcomings in the internal life of the republic, a low economic level, and public dissatisfaction with the standard of living, but we saw that in these matters as well, the head of state demonstrated wisdom, preventing shocks.

A very important factor that I consider is that Levon Ter-Petrosyan has a relatively larger political and social base compared to other candidates, and while conducting a socially beneficial policy that considers everyone’s interests, he is also an independent figure, especially evident in decisive moments.

To summarize: as many successes there are, there are almost as many unresolved issues, shortcomings, and tasks ahead. In this regard, we believe that Levon Ter-Petrosyan is the most suitable candidate, not only because of his past work but for the tasks we expect of him.

(Source: 'Hayastani Hanrapetutyun' newspaper, 06.09.1996, republished in the book 'The Scientist and the President: On the 75th Anniversary of Levon Ter-Petrosyan,' Antares-Yerevan, 2019, pp. 331-332)