David Tonoyan Talks About What Happened on November 9, 2020

Former Armenian Minister of Defense David Tonoyan has issued a statement in which he noted:

“Following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s press conference on May 22, which addressed negotiations for a ceasefire during the 44-day war, although the former first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Tigran Khachaturyan, mentioned my actions, those of former chief of the General Staff Onik Gasparyan, and the then newly appointed head of the National Security Service, Armen Abazyan, I do not wish to assess the involvement of any officer, including on the issue of the formulation of the November 9 trilateral statement. Such assessments can only be made by the sole negotiator on behalf of Armenia, the Prime Minister, who personally coordinated and harmonized the work of the heads of all participating agencies during the consultations.

Regarding the mention by the Prime Minister during the press conference that he did not agree to sign the version of the trilateral statement that included references to the so-called “ enclaves,” I want to clarify that I did not comment on this at the time, taking into account the interests of Armenia's national security and to avoid damaging relations with allied states.

However, in an interview published on January 25, 2021, while not disclosing all the details, I mentioned that “thanks to our constant working relationship with the Russian Minister of Defense, we were able to resolve a number of other important issues aside from pure defense sector topics,” he stated.

“Today, considering the challenges faced by Armenia and Artsakh, and without revealing all the details, I will present some details. Following a meeting with the Prime Minister on the evening of November 9, 2020, he decided that he would not sign the version of the trilateral statement for that date, while instructing me, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other agencies to only communicate his stance to our Russian colleagues.

Prior to receiving the above instruction, around 18:30, Azerbaijan struck a Russian helicopter from the Nakhchivan territory, and while full information about the incident was not available, I had a rather serious conversation with my Russian counterpart following the Prime Minister's call. After it became clear that the helicopter was downed by Azerbaijan, during our phone conversations over approximately 4 hours, we discussed issues concerning “enclaves,” the deployment of peacekeeping forces, Armenian troops remaining in their positions at the time of the ceasefire coming into effect, the width of the Lachin corridor, and other important matters. The final agreed document, without reference to the “enclaves,” was presented to the Prime Minister.

In response to the recurring question raised by MPs and journalists about why the Armenian troops were not kept in the positions they occupied as of November 9, 2020, and why the issue of “enclaves” was not resolved, I emphasize that what transpired after November 20, 2020—after my dismissal—specifically the withdrawal of our units in Syunik from the positions they occupied, as well as the return of the “enclaves” issue to the agenda, has no relation to the agreements I reached as Minister of Defense.

I can only discuss further details in a parliamentary inquiry committee, and that too in an open, public session with the participation of the Prime Minister, to prevent any distortion or misrepresentation of facts by anyone in the future,” said Tonoyan.