I Have Never Made False Promises or Engaged in Demagoguery: Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has stated: "The aspiration to maintain the status quo is based on the philosophy that the international community will sooner or later reconcile with the accomplished fact and ultimately recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. Theoretically, this is a correct philosophy, especially supported by several historical precedents. The whole issue is, as I noted on one occasion ten years ago, whether Armenia has the capacity to maintain the status quo for 20-30 years, whether its resources will be sufficient to develop its own economy, overcome obstacles posed by blockades and isolation, and finally, whether our country will withstand competition with Azerbaijan. The status quo is not a map, nor a ceasefire line, but a stable balance of power. Viewed from this perspective, it is painful to note that we are in a rather troubling, if not dire, situation. If ten years ago, Armenia and Azerbaijan had relatively comparable human, economic, and military resources, today there is a significant gap between them that tends to widen further.

What, then, is defeatism? Keeping the people in ignorance and dulling their vigilance so that one day they wake up and see that Karabakh is no more? Or revealing the truth and sounding the alarm to try to unite the nation's forces to prevent this impending danger? With the utmost respect for our people, I have always relied not on their emotions, but on their reason. I have never concealed the truth from them, no matter how bitter it may be. I have never made false promises or engaged in demagoguery or populism. And I do not intend to betray these principles in the future. Let this be seen as an unprofitable political behavior. Let it affect my rating. I am who I am and I will be who I will be. I was the same in 1988, and you understood and trusted me and my friends from the 'Karabakh Committee', which resulted in an independent Armenia and liberated Artsakh."

October 26, 2007,

the first president wrote.