We Have Left Everything Behind and Knocked on Everyone's Door Asking for Help: Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan

In an interview with 'Hraparak' newspaper, Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the head of the Tavush Diocese, shared his insights on the current political landscape in Armenia.

- Your Grace, these days people have divided not only into government and opposition factions but also into pro-Western and pro-Russian camps. Recently, there have been numerous protests advocating for exiting the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) and seeking the United States as a reliable ally. What is the solution in this situation?

- Our tragedy has been that, often like a poor client, we have always looked to external assistance or foreign powers. No matter how friendly they may be, history has shown that a friend can quickly become an enemy, or vice versa. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the value you represent yourself, how strong and powerful you are internally, and ultimately, to rely completely on your own strength. Afterward, the others will come to assist you.

This does not mean severing ties with everyone, but it also doesn't mean bending your neck waiting for someone else to come to your rescue. No one is coming to save us, and our history has demonstrated this repeatedly as we have faced the choice between East and West, North and South. Whenever we chose one side, it resulted in our failure, both as a state and as a community. It is when we have focused on unifying and strengthening our internal forces that we have succeeded in creating a state and identifying as a nation.

Clearly, powerful forces in the world create spheres of influence and wield significant power, but the key question is how we define our own goals and mobilize our nation. We have left everything and knocked on everyone's doors pleading for help from the CSTO, Russia, America, asking them to assist us.

- Do you see an awareness of the gravity of the moment among citizens and leaders? They declare neither mobilization nor martial law, and the government’s agenda seems to focus on seedlings instead.

- Awareness about the seriousness of the situation comes from the strategy set by the government. The people can move in various directions; what matters is how the power structures guide them and what goals are established. This is like a ship; if the captain and crew do not steer it, then what will happen to the ship? The passengers can do nothing but hit rocks and icebergs. The issue is what is provided, what the goal is, what is set. I will continue to speak about this. If there is no objective, everything becomes a farce.

- Recently, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the current border tensions cannot undermine the peace agenda.

- Therefore, it is neither border tension, escalation, nor aggression; it is a continuous state of war. According to the latest reports, we have 135 casualties. There are countless others whose fate remains unknown. How can this be viewed as mere border escalation? When your country is under attack, territory is being occupied, strategic points are reached, and safety in traveling across your country is compromised, what kind of escalation is this?

This is war in every sense—physical, psychological, and even economic. Now they have coined a new term: hybrid warfare. What a farce!

- Just days ago, in the National Assembly, Nikol Pashinyan announced that he wants to sign a document that would lead to