Understand that I have come not to surrender Artsakh, but to save the last opportunity to hold onto it. Samvel Babayan

The leader of the 'United Homeland' party, Samvel Babayan, has made a statement addressing the content of a recently published draft agreement on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Artsakh, and the Republic of Armenia, dating back to 1998.

'Days ago, a draft agreement on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh was published online, which proves that the shouting media outlets and their 'non-existent' sponsors are a balloon. Being convinced that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue can only be resolved through compromises, following a meeting in November 1997 at the residence of Armenia’s President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, I presented the viewpoint of the Artsakh authorities as the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Artsakh in January 1998 in the form of a published draft agreement. We developed the proposal alongside the Artsakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the political aspects and the Ministry of Defense for the territory portion and the map. We discussed with Levon Ter-Petrosyan which areas could be conceded and which areas could not be given up under any circumstances. The areas and their justifications are clearly presented in the document.

Everyone knew that the only way to end this conflict was through concessions. Moreover, with the knowledge and consent of the Artsakh authorities, Armenia conducted all negotiations based around these concessions. There were no other options. But they come now, declaring that there will be no concessions, that not an inch of land will be given away. The situation remains the same today — they are ready to hand over the country, to turn the people into refugees, but not let it come to light that all negotiations were about giving away land. If they can, let them deny it.

In fact, I am not interested in the noise created by the shouty media. Their purpose is clear to me, though not to the people. I have stated and now repeat — the Nagorno-Karabakh issue can be resolved only with concessions from both sides, and the only way to achieve this is through dialogue with Azerbaijan and creating an atmosphere of mutual trust. I have presented my viewpoint and suggested polishing it with political and social forces, preparing a final document, and conducting negotiations with Azerbaijan within the framework of that document. Otherwise, you have become a government of explanations and justifications. Azerbaijan states something, and you all mobilize to deny it with the entire state apparatus. If you had a roadmap for communicating with Azerbaijan, you would know who is negotiating, what is being negotiated, what information you are providing the people, and when.

To clarify for especially dull-witted individuals, let me state that mutual trust is not integration. Pay attention to what I have proposed and what has been negotiated after me. After I was removed from the army, they started negotiating in the logic of a corridor. If I proposed 8,000 square kilometers of territory, who is the one giving up — me or those who barely managed to keep 3,000 square kilometers at such a cost of lives? If we do not undertake specific actions even now, we will not be able to hold onto this either. At least now understand that I have come not to surrender Artsakh but to save the last opportunity to hold onto it.'