Robert Kocharian's Office Responds to Pashinyan's Statements

Head of the office of Armenia's second president Robert Kocharian, Bagrat Mikoyan, has responded to the statements made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan the day before:

“I have reviewed Nikol Pashinyan's statements made yesterday. Perhaps realizing the consequences he has brought to Artsakh and Armenia, he is trying, by all means possible and impossible, to shift the blame onto others. Although we have repeatedly pointed out, with evidence, the falseness of these accusations, we are compelled to reiterate once again:

1. Regarding the requirement of ten years of citizenship to participate in the presidential election – as of 1998, there was no individual in the Republic of Armenia who had held at least the last ten years of Armenian citizenship, because until 1991, that is, until the collapse of the USSR, there was a singular citizenship, the USSR citizenship (the citizenship of the Armenian SSR or any other Soviet republic did not exist separately). Moreover, Robert Kocharian had been a deputy in the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR since 1988.
2. On excluding Artsakh from the negotiation process – in February 1997, the OSC co-chairs were formed with France, the USA, and Russia replacing the pair of Russian and Finnish co-chairs. The first consultations of the trio, without the participation of the conflicting sides, took place on February 24 in Copenhagen and on March 19 in Paris. They discussed changing the negotiation format. From April 1-4, 1997, the last round of negotiations with the participation of the conflict sides was held, during which the mediators announced the transition to 'clean diplomacy'. Essentially, the co-chairs abandoned the format of negotiations with the participation of the sides, considering its ineffectiveness. At that last meeting, they couldn’t even manage to seat the sides around a common table during the traditional dinner. At that time, direct negotiations were already being conducted for more than a year and a half between the advisors of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Liparitians and Guluzade respectively. The first meeting between President Kocharian and Aliyev took place on April 1, 1999, at the CIS summit, initiated by Boris Yeltsin. Thus, the format of negotiations with the participation of the conflict sides was suspended back in April 1997, when Robert Kocharian had been Prime Minister for merely a week, and two years later, the first meeting took place between Presidents Kocharian and Aliyev.
3. Another fact: between 1998 and 2018, the co-chairs visited Artsakh almost every time they visited the region and negotiated with the political leadership of the Republic of Artsakh, while since 2018, this has happened ZERO times.
4. The idea of a 'common state' was developed based on a proposal from the Russian side and was presented to Azerbaijan before being presented to Armenia, and on the very day of its presentation, November 9, 1998, it was sharply rejected by Azerbaijan. Waifa Guluzade, during an interview on the same November 9, stated that these proposals were unacceptable to Azerbaijan as they endangered Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. Heydar Aliyev publicly announced this rejection on February 21, 2001, during a speech in the Azerbaijani parliament, explaining that he could not accept it because, I quote: ‘There is a saying in Azerbaijan: “Even worse than the worst”. The proposal of a ‘common state’ was worse than all previous proposals.’
5. In the OSCE Istanbul Declaration of 1999, Nagorno-Karabakh was the only issue regarding which the necessity of preserving the principle of territorial integrity was not emphasized; this was a significant diplomatic victory. This is a fact, and anyone can review the accepted document.
6. Regarding the 'Meghri exchange', Nikol Pashinyan quotes his spiritual fathers, team members, and bureaucrats, referring to an article he published in February 2008, calling it ‘an international media publication’. What actually happened was that the author of the proposal was Aliyev, and it was never discussed with the conflicting sides within the framework of the co-chairmanship. This proposal was rejected by the Armenian side. More details are described in Robert Kocharian's book ‘Life and Freedom’, pages 380-381.
7. According to the Key West Document of 2001, Artsakh was connected to Armenia through the Lachin corridor. In return, a road, but not a corridor, was given. This document is explained in detail in the book ‘Life and Freedom’, and there is nothing more to add. By the way, this document is also published, and anyone interested can read it.
8. We have often talked about the Madrid document; let us reiterate that it is the first negotiation document, by which the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh was recognized with international guarantees. Contrasting this part of the document with the December 10, 1991 referendum had never crossed even the minds of the Azerbaijanis throughout the entire negotiation history. The 1991 referendum was held under wartime conditions and without observers endowed with a mandate from authoritative international organizations. A new referendum would have reaffirmed the results of the first, granting them international status.

In conclusion, historical facts that cannot be distorted:

• During President Kocharian's tenure, not a single centimeter of land was surrendered to the enemy; on the contrary.
• The period of President Kocharian’s term was the calmest and most peaceful time in the history of the Republic of Armenia.
• During the presidency of Kocharian, for the first time, the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh was internationally recognized, while the Republic of Artsakh was developing rapidly.
• During President Kocharian's tenure, Azerbaijan did not even consider the possibility of attacking Armenia and Artsakh, knowing it would face repercussions,” wrote Mikoyan.