“In that case, there are two options left”: Davit Babayan

We have never been against negotiations or dialogue with Baku, but those same negotiations and dialogues should not be just for the sake of negotiation or dialogue; they must fix something and ensure some progress. This was stated by Davit Babayan, advisor to the President of Artsakh and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, in an interview with NEWS.am.

“If the issue is humanitarian, there is no question about it, because since 2020 there have been regular discussions on these issues with the Azerbaijani side, search operations have taken place, someone has gotten lost, and so on. But Azerbaijan is now trying to impose another topic and format on us. Sometimes it is better not to engage in dialogue than to engage in it, because it may create a more complicated and worse situation afterwards,” he said.

According to Babayan, there is a contradictory understanding regarding the future: “Azerbaijan says: you are not a side, Artsakh does not exist, you do not exist, you are some kind of Armenian population, and we can only talk to you about so-called integration, which will be the dismantling of the state and the colonization of Artsakh. Artsakh will, at best, become a reservation. This means we are dismantling the state, Azerbaijan is asserting its supremacy, and thus the first phase ends, after which repressions begin, people will be imprisoned under the silent, mute behavior of the international community. Armenia will hardly do anything either.”

“We say, let’s speak as equals, but that’s not realistic either, because seeing our severe situation, they think, who are these people that we can negotiate with? It’s a devastated country, their own mother wants to abandon them. Under these conditions, anyone in Azerbaijan would act the same way,” Davit Babayan declared.

He added that if Azerbaijan presents an ultimatum during these negotiations, giving 24 or 36 hours to leave Artsakh, what should they do? “When the moment comes to talk to Azerbaijan, it will be an extreme situation in which the future of Artsakh should be decided—either to leave or I don't know what else will happen. In that case, there are two options left: either armed resistance—with unclear consequences but great bloodshed—or, simply, like men, to leave without accepting these humiliating conditions. But that exit, apparently, will also be from Armenia because people will no longer see a future in Armenia. The concept of the Armenian nation is fading away, and Armenian society is becoming a mutated society, and is already becoming so, because we do not see the care for Artsakh that should be there. This will lead to a great tragedy for Armenia as well. Azerbaijan is already declaring that Azerbaijanis should return to Armenia.”