Former Commander of Artsakh Defense Army: 'Presidents Should Have Fought, Not Surrendered to Baku'

Artsakh and Armenia had three years to prepare. We were in a bad situation during 1988-91 too; there was no weapon, no ammunition. I don’t know what they were afraid of now; we shouldn’t be afraid of casualties, as no one would fight on our behalf. The new President of Artsakh, as for what he could have done, didn't do anything, I cannot say. Let him speak, let's find out, but that signature was under pressure, it has no legal basis, and the law does not allow such things.

This was noted by Arkadi Karapetyan, the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, during a program on 24TV.

Regarding the abductions of Artsakh presidents by Azerbaijan, Karapetyan stated that Aliyev restored his dignity, and now we must restore ours. Those living in dishonor cannot be sovereign. 'Didn’t they consider what responsibility they were taking on when they assumed the presidency? They were dealing with the fate of the nation; they should not have surrendered. They should have fought back, as they represented a nation and told tales of how brave they were. They should have taken up arms and fought. They weren’t born presidents; if they were wounded, we would understand their surrender, but now I can’t imagine. Were they that naive? Didn’t they know they would be captured?'