I Consider the Minister's First Exam Unsatisfactory: Abrahamyan

The Secretary of the "Honorary Residents" faction of the National Assembly, Tigran Abrahamyan, wrote on his Facebook page:

“The Minister of State of Artsakh announces that ‘I cannot imagine in any way that there can be differences between the positions of Yerevan and Stepanakert, and vice versa. I am convinced that Yerevan, when it comes to the Artsakh issue, primarily relies on the positions and opinions of the Artsakh authorities, which fully reflect the aspirations of the people of Artsakh.’

In response to a journalist's clarifying question about whether there are currently any differences in approaches with the RA authorities, the minister answers ‘in no way.’

It turns out that according to the Minister of State of Artsakh, the positions expressed by the RA authorities, such as ‘from the international community's perspective, Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan,’ ‘Artsakh can have a future within Azerbaijan,’ ‘Armenia is no longer the guarantor of Artsakh’s security,’ ‘We will not put the lives of 3 million people at risk for the sake of 120,000 Armenians in Artsakh,’ and ‘Armenia no longer bears responsibility for the issue of Artsakh,’ are not only aligned with the position of the Artsakh authorities but also express the will of the people of Artsakh.

What can I say? I consider the minister’s first exam unsatisfactory, and if this position from Artsakh is not revised, it will be recorded that the process of surrendering Artsakh promoted by the RA authorities has complete support within the authorities of Artsakh.

The authorities of Artsakh and political forces must express a clear position on this statement: do they share this position or not?

I apologize for my optimism, but I hope that the Minister of State, taking into account his inexperience in the field and the possibility of confusion, will announce that his words were not correctly understood or formulated.

The basis of my optimism is not so much objective factors but my strong desire that there are no internal political crises in Artsakh, responsible individuals do not fail, and Armenian interests are not undermined.