Russia Has Not Fulfilled Its Obligations in Nagorno-Karabakh: Andranik Kocharyan

In 2020, a war broke out in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group attempted to halt the fighting, but they were unsuccessful. Russia was heavily involved, and on November 9, 2020, a statement was signed that included obligations for Russia that have not been fulfilled. This was stated by Andranik Kocharyan, head of the Parliamentary Commission on Defense and Security and a member of the Civil Contract party, in an interview with NEWS.am.

He referred specifically to the situation created around Lachin during a particular time period. “As a result, there was an ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh with the presence of Russian troops. Prior to this, there were actions provoked by Azerbaijan, during which Russian units did not intervene at all. Have you forgotten about Farukh? Why did the Russian observers at the Russian-Turkish monitoring center not record violations of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan? If Russia had fulfilled its obligations, I don’t believe that the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh would have become a reality. Has Seyran Ohanyan from the ‘Armenia’ alliance forgotten about the ‘Ring’ operation?” Kocharyan explained that at that time Russian units were stationed in Artsakh, which assisted in executing this operation in Shahumyan.

“If we had done nothing, then 1994 would not have happened. Whoever says that the struggle of the Armenian people is zeroed out is renouncing Armenia. All resources were directed towards ensuring the safety of our compatriots in Artsakh. Events began with the Armenian pogroms in Sumgait and Baku, and then they evolved into armed conflict, with attacks on Armenian villages. Our sacrifices were made for peace and the security of our people,” concluded the parliament member.