VIDEO: Let them force Pashinyan, Kocharian, and Sargsyan to sit at the same table: Ter-Petrosyan

The first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, has published an article about the issue of Artsakh and the internal political situation in Armenia. The article, which was published on ilur.am, is presented below:

Part 1. The fact that the policy of rejecting compromises and maintaining the status quo led to a national catastrophe needs no proof, which is admitted even by some former supporters of that policy after the disaster. However, many are trying to justify themselves by proving that the same thing would have happened if the path of compromises had been chosen. This is nothing but a pathetic attempt at self-justification and absolutely unfounded, as history does not favor 'what if' scenarios. History records what has already occurred. Therefore, no matter what maneuvers the opponents of a compromise solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue (government officials, party leaders, intellectuals) use to justify their disastrous actions, they will inevitably face the judgment of history, from which no one has still escaped. It is this awareness of such a fate that drives them today to justify their catastrophic behavior in every possible way, which, unfortunately, further deepens the current crisis in Armenia and Artsakh.

Part 2. This concerns the current internal political confrontation, which, in my opinion, not only weakens but further undermines Armenia's positions in the upcoming difficult negotiations. Therefore, it is unclear what the actual purpose of the current opposition is. With a slight stroke of Sargsyan's hand, the label of 'capitulator' has been attached to Nikol Pashinyan, which, although accurate, is half-truth. In reality, it is not Pashinyan who has capitulated, but Armenia itself; Pashinyan merely signed the act of Armenia's capitulation. Thus, regardless of who takes Pashinyan's place—Robert Kocharian, Serzh Sargsyan, or even Ishkhan Saghatelyan—they will obediently accept whatever solution is imposed on Armenia. Therefore, the issue does not depend on the individual character of the Armenian leader. If this simple truth is not understood, and our country's internal political shocks continue, then the solutions imposed on us will be much more painful, regardless of whether Pashinyan or someone else signs the final document.

The question arises: do the current opposition leaders not realize this? If they do not realize it, it means they understand nothing about politics. But if they do understand yet continue with the internal political shocks, then it follows that they have entirely different goals, which have absolutely nothing to do with national interests. The harsh actions of the current authorities against the opposition's organized rallies, marches, and protests are also not related to national interests at all.

Being hopelessly optimistic, I still expect that the conflicting sides will eventually realize the danger of their positions and make efforts to reach some kind of agreement to avoid further complicating the situation and to evade new dangers. If our intellectuals truly want to do something beneficial for the nation, let them force Nikol Pashinyan, Robert Kocharian, and Serzh Sargsyan to sit at the same table and find a way out of the internal political crisis. By the way, I made such a call even before the current crisis, on January 15 of this year.

In addition to Part 1, the editorial deems it appropriate to attach the following video to the article.