What Happened in Artsakh in 2023 and How Araik Harutyunyan Resigned

The deputy of the National Assembly of Artsakh and head of the "Democratic Party of Artsakh" faction, Davit Melikumyan, denied claims in an interview with Sputnik Armenia that Araik Harutyunyan was forced to resign and that the leadership of Artsakh rejected proposals to negotiate with Baku, which were put forward shortly before Azerbaijani aggression and emigration.

Melikumyan himself negotiated with Azerbaijanis in September in Evlakh along with the Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, Sergey Martirosyan, but only after the military actions of September 19-20. According to Melikumyan, everyone opposed Harutyunyan's resignation. Neither former presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, who, like Harutyunyan, are currently in a Baku prison, wanted him to leave, nor any political figures, even though everyone said that once favorable conditions arise, there should be new elections.

“All resignation processes were generated by Araik Harutyunyan, and one day we hear that he has signed his resignation. We found out post-factum. And in order not to leave a country in an already extremely difficult situation without a president after 9 months of blockade, we all had to take that step,” the deputy said.

He noted that constant negotiations with Azerbaijan were ongoing in some form before the large-scale aggression. These were conducted by Araik Harutyunyan and several other representatives of the military-political leadership, including the former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army and former secretary of the Security Council, Samvel Babayan. Armenia also negotiated with Azerbaijan.

Regarding the proposal to travel to Sofia, which was previously mentioned by Shahramanyan, it was put forward even before Harutyunyan's resignation. Melikumyan stated that Harutyunyan was the only one that the Armenian authorities communicated with.

“The thesis that Stepanakert has refused negotiations with Baku does not correspond to reality. There was a proposal for a meeting, which Nagorno-Karabakh did not reject, although it stated that it also has proposals. Nagorno-Karabakh’s positions were not strong enough for Stepanakert to refuse the negotiation proposals. And I must say that all these discussions, this entire process took place with the participation of the Armenian authorities,” he added.

However, even if the Karabakh delegation were to travel to Sofia or elsewhere, it is hard to imagine that Azerbaijan would sign a peace agreement and everything would fall into place. Melikumyan is convinced that it would be yet another imitation of negotiations.

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