VIDEO: My Approach May Have Been Very Harsh, But I Don't Regret It: Ruben Vardanyan's Full Speech

During today’s government session of the Republic of Artsakh, chaired by President Arayik Harutyunyan, State Minister Ruben Vardanyan delivered a speech. Below is his statement:

“First of all, I want to express my gratitude for the journey we have taken together and for the trust shown to me by the President. It has been a great experience for me. As you know, I have been coming to Artsakh for decades, I had strong connections, but in early September, I declared that I was back because I felt we were on the edge of a precipice, not fully understanding the situation. For me, it was Sardarapat. When I say Sardarapat, I mean crisis, another agenda, and I consider myself a soldier doing everything necessary for the salvation of our homeland.

Therefore, when I received this invitation, it was unexpected because I had promised myself that I would not enter state service. However, I realized that if I am a person of my word, coming to protect my homeland, there can be no ‘whether I want to’ or ‘whether I can.’ If it is necessary, then that is how it must be done. It was certainly a difficult decision for me. On the other hand, it was easy because I had decided that I was here, that I would stay, that I would not go anywhere, and if I am needed in this direction, then I will work in this direction. If I can be useful for my homeland in another direction, I will work in that direction.

From this perspective, it might be easier for me to assume and relinquish the position. We are at war, and it was necessary to fight in this direction. I hope my struggle has somehow helped all of us to overcome this difficulty together.

I want to respond to a few theses. First, why I did not resign. I want it to be clear, I considered myself a soldier; I cannot resign unless the Supreme Commander is obliged to relieve me of my duties.

Secondly, I am confident that we have done very important work during this difficult period, and I want to thank all the people who worked during this challenging crisis— from 7 in the morning until 2 at night, without electricity and gas, showing that as a team we are ready for everything. This was a very important experience for me, for which I am very grateful.

Thirdly, the external pressure was indeed immense, and the President has more information and understands the situation. But we have an outside world and an inside world. It seemed to me that external pressure was not helping us create a situation inside where we could feel stronger against this pressure.

I have presented the work of the government for 110 days to the President, and I am ready to present it in more detail to the public. To do the work properly, you must first create a correct project, have an outline, lay the foundation, and build internal walls. We have taken steps in different directions that, of course, were complicated under crisis conditions, but we are happily transferring the results of the work carried out to Mr. Nersisyan and hope that he will continue work in those areas.

I know there is pressure regarding my staying in Artsakh, but I want to say that I not only will not leave, but I also cannot imagine myself without Artsakh. I will continue to engage in the activities I have carried out until now. Our foundation, ‘We Are Our Mountains,’ has already implemented quite a few programs. I must say that this was a very important example of cooperation between the state and the private sector, Armenia, the Diaspora, and both Armenian and non-Armenian civil organizations. I believe this is essential because if we talk about the future, it is very important that this cooperation continues. We will continue to invest our efforts and work hard to ensure that as many Armenians come to Artsakh as possible, so that not only the Artsakh Armenians do not feel alone, but also those who left Artsakh at different times return during this crisis, thereby strengthening our homeland.

As I have already mentioned, we have financial, management, and preparation issues for next winter. During this time, we have accumulated enough experience, understood our shortcomings, and noted where the work has been poorly executed. It is very important that we learn lessons from all this and do everything to avoid repeating these shortcomings, both with regard to food and fuel and other issues. Now we have a much better understanding of the situation than before the blockade.

Financial, management, and other issues are crucial, but even more significant was the realization that Azerbaijan, which hoped to bring us to our knees and break us, made a serious mistake. Azerbaijan saw that we became more united, and even manifestations of indifference disappeared. It was indeed very encouraging to hear how people in various communities said: 'We are ready to endure without gas and light, as long as you do not betray us, and let’s continue the fight.'

It is truly a heavy responsibility for you, as President, elected four months before the war, to carry that burden during all this time. I confidently say that to achieve success, the approach must be systemic. If we do not build a system, if we do not invest in transparent, consistently created mechanisms, it is very difficult to achieve success. It is also not up for discussion that any individual cannot be more important than our homeland. Trust is also very important; I hope our words have not truly lost their value. I reviewed your speeches after the war; they were very brilliant, profound speeches, Mr. President. I am confident that you would still endorse those words; I just wish those words could turn into actions, as it is very important that people do not lose faith in those words.

It is sad, but often we cannot say what we want, or we are forced to resort to double meanings. Nevertheless, people must believe in our word and deed. I, as a person who had not worked in the state system for the previous 112 days, realized that there is a strong governance system in Artsakh, primarily devoted civil servants. However, the challenges we face cannot be overcome by government efforts alone. The issues we have regarding finances, security, and agency require very serious cooperation; that is why I hope we will understand the importance of this when we try to use the potential of the Diaspora.

The political field has its own rules, and it is possible that if we were not under blockade, we might look at all this differently. My greatest difficulty is that I have not been able to prove and explain two things—that this is not a normal situation, and that the crisis has its own rules. This might have been one of my greatest shortcomings.

The other difficulty was that I was unable to explain that fighting means that we must understand daily what our weaknesses and strengths are, how we should strengthen our positions, and how we can use our limited resources. Our struggle is not just with weapons, but also in the economy and information domains. These 112 days have brought changes that inevitably showed a new situation, a new Artsakh: On one hand, we were all in the same boat, and that boat united us all, but on the other hand, we saw unacceptable examples, which I have raised— that a part of people does not have this awareness of unacceptability. For instance, in a crisis situation, sending vegetables and fruits to senior officials while being a senior official yourself...

The question is not whether that’s a good thing; the issue is that out of several dozen people, only a few returned those gifts, considering the phenomenon unacceptable. It is painful for me that bringing pineapples or fresh roses during this blockade is normalized, but I know that the number of such people is small. I am more concerned not by what they did but that we consider it normal.

The second issue is that there was no mechanism for punishment. Mr. Nersisyan and I have discussed this issue a lot regarding what is punishing in this situation and what is not. For me, there are no former, Soros-affiliated individuals; there are people who are ready to act in this military situation and those who are ready to go forward shoulder to shoulder; we are not looking back. Those who are not ready either should be punished or leave here because they should not interfere with our work.

My approach may have been very harsh, but I do not regret it. Recently I read a book by Nzhdeh, and it was interesting to see that 100 years ago, he wrote about the same thing. I want to read a bit from his memories: ‘The fate of the Armenian people would have been different if its leaders had declared war on their shortcomings, instead of engaging in internal intrigues.’ I know for myself that I have not been a perfect leader; I have made mistakes, but I have been sincere, I have been a patriot, and I have been more demanding of myself than of others.

Mr. President, I want to say that we are fortunate to be here because we have a fantastic people; that people showed that they could endure anything and are ready to fight, ready to follow us, and it is truly a great honor to have had the opportunity to understand just how strong the people of Artsakh are and to differentiate between the Armenian in Artsakh and those living elsewhere.

It is very encouraging! I am confident that we can overcome the ‘salami’ strategy applied by Azerbaijan, which is very dangerous. I am confident that the path of choice should not be held by one individual, or the security council, or a few hundred individuals, but the entire people must make very difficult and responsible decisions, which we have talked about both before and during the blockade, as well as during the rallies.

We are all people with our weaknesses. I hope that if I have offended someone without realizing it, you will be forgiving; if I have not said or done something, I am open to both criticism and advice because I have always learned from others. I will work here and stay by your side. Thank you, Mr. President, for everything, even though we have differences in various approaches, but the overall idea we have is that there are red lines that must not be crossed. These red lines are very important for maintaining our dignity and keeping Artsakh Armenian, independent, and dignified. I am confident that we will overcome this path together.”