They are gravely mistaken if they think that after the destruction of Artsakh, they will sit in Yerevan and drink tea and coffee: Babayan

The statements from official Yerevan have indeed dealt a terrible blow primarily to Artsakh. I believe that this danger will ultimately threaten the entire Armenian nation as well. This was stated by David Babayan, advisor to the President of the Republic of Artsakh and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with "Factinfo," referring to the recent statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Recall that while Nikol Pashinyan met with Ilham Aliyev in Brussels on July 15, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement highlighting that Armenia had accepted Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan during summits held under the auspices of the European Union in October 2022 and May 2023. This, according to them, fundamentally altered the terms of the agreement signed between the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020. According to the statement, this also changed the decision regarding the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping forces. The Russian foreign ministry urged in this context not to place the fate of the Artsakh population on third countries.

“The issue is that comments start to be made and it is a matter of 'throwing dirt in our eyes'—from Michel to who knows where, including from Russia. There’s some truth in that, when the Russians came, was it recognized as part of Azerbaijan? Of course not. So what are we supposed to do? Tell me. Therefore, one should never blame anyone. In our millennia-old history, whatever has happened to us, we are to blame for everything,” he said.

According to Babayan, the initiatives and actions undertaken in Artsakh are directed at the entire world, including Russia. But this does not mean that their demands were directed solely at the Russian side.

“I understand that there are people in the Armenian society whose life goal is to fight against Russia. We are already fed up with them. Instead of fighting for the nation’s interests, they are chasing after some abnormal things. Those who follow them will lead to a situation where you will be thankful for the current situation in which Artsakh finds itself. But that is another issue,” he noted.

Referring to the statement made by President of the European Council Charles Michel, Babayan said that it was made with consideration of their own interests in relations with Baku. In this context, he emphasized that the European Council is far from the ideals of democracy and human rights. Thus, Europe’s goal is to expel Russia from the region.

Recall that after the negotiations on July 15, the President of the European Council welcomed Azerbaijan's offer to transport goods to Artsakh via Aghdam while making no demands to Azerbaijan to immediately open the Berdzor corridor, in accordance with the Hague Court's ruling.

“He says that we should sit down with the Azerbaijani authorities with regard to 'the Armenians living in the territory of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region.' We do not understand. And this is all under the complete passivity of the so-called Armenian society. Well, go ahead. If anyone thinks that after the destruction of Artsakh, they will sit in Yerevan and drink tea and coffee, they are gravely mistaken. They will be drinking blood, blood,” he asserted.

In this context, the advisor to the President of Artsakh also considered it particularly dangerous that Michel emphasized “the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan—86,600 square kilometers.”

“I don’t understand why the Armenian society doesn’t go and 'attack' that EU representation on the day of Artsakh, block and besiege it. Why don’t they do it so that one day they can’t even go to the restroom without seeing the situation? But if the Russians were there, some would tear themselves apart. We need to take action. Essentially, he calls Artsakh Azerbaijani territory. It’s an attempt... Why do they want this? Because they don’t want Artsakh to remain. Their goal is the destruction of Artsakh under their geopolitical abhorrences and perverted perceptions,” Babayan stated.

In the current situation, Babayan sees the solution to the problem only through the unity of the Armenian people. He noted that indifference could lead to irreversible consequences, just as it did at the beginning of the 20th century with the collapse of the First Republic and could repeat during the period of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.

“Later, don’t cry everywhere about why things turned out this way. We are the culprits. By 'we', I mean the masses that call themselves Armenians but in reality don’t know what they are. We must work correctly. We still have a chance to save Artsakh. Afterwards, we won’t be able to do anything. This will simply prove a very dangerous thesis that the Armenian nation is incapable of building a state,” he concluded.