Pashtinyan Has No Place to Speak, Justify, or Blame His Predecessors Today, Says Oskanian

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Vardan Oskanian stated that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has no place today to speak, justify himself, or blame his predecessors. He emphasized that the current situation in Armenia and its surroundings since April 2018 is a failure of the country's leadership, its commander-in-chief, and the sole responsible figure in foreign policy.

“If today he had reached a peace agreement, opened the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan, and maintained Artsakh without war and casualties within the confines of Artsakh's (Nagorno-Karabakh) borders and corridors, only then would he have the right to blame the former leaders for their inability to achieve that over thirty years,” Oskanian wrote on his Facebook page.

According to the former foreign minister, after the 44-day war, when Pashinyan felt and realized the weight of his responsibility for the losses, he immediately exhibited a human instinct to evade responsibility, cleanse himself, and find tranquility of conscience. However, Oskanian pointed out that human instincts and emotions have no place in state and international relations.

“Pashinyan’s dilemma is compounded by the fact that he inherited a legacy from the last three presidents that allowed him from 2018 onwards to do what I described above, especially considering his broad public support following the 2018 political change. Yet, he squandered all of it,” the former foreign minister stated.

Oskanian is confident that if Pashinyan had at least minimal diplomatic skills, the country would have avoided war, and today they would have Artsakh with its entire territory recognized by Azerbaijan, Turkey, and the international community, along with a 20 km Lachin corridor and an interim status guaranteed by the UN Security Council.

He reminds that all of this is articulated in black and white in the Madrid Principles. “No leader lacking the minimum military-political skills of Armenia could achieve success. Pashinyan lacked and still lacks those skills,” Oskanian wrote.

The former foreign minister assured that there is a peaceful and diplomatic alternative to what is currently being done, and the international community is mainly interested in finding a solution to the issue rather than the content of the solution.

“They, especially the West, are currently robustly supporting Pashinyan because they see in him a person who provides the easiest and shortest possible path to solving their issue. The moment Armenia can formulate its approach to a solution skillfully and logically, there will be a clear change in positions on their part,” he wrote.

In concluding his post, Oskanian noted that the leadership of a country like Armenia simply did not suit Nikol Pashinyan. In his view, the most direct and shortest path to cleanse himself and find peace of conscience would be for the Prime Minister to voluntarily resign and hand over the governance of the country to someone proficient in military-political and diplomatic affairs.

It should be recalled that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated during a meeting of the investigative commission examining the circumstances of the 44-day war that according to the Madrid Principles, Azerbaijan has nullified the legal basis established from 1989-91, eliminated our legitimate rights, and has gained a veto right over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.