Pashinyan Rejected Peace Talks, Provoked War: Levon Zurabyan

In 2019, Pashinyan could have accepted the solution proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group, which stipulated that Armenia would surrender five regions, while Lachin and Kelbajar would only be handed over once the status of Nagorno-Karabakh was definitively determined. This package would have also followed the signing of a peace treaty and the unblocking of regional communication pathways. This was written by the Vice President of the National Assembly, Levon Zurabyan.

“This was a consolidated solution that Azerbaijan had also agreed to. Pashinyan, under the circumstances of revolutionary euphoria and with the support of a 10 million-strong Armenian community, could have calmly implemented this plan, explaining to the people with the same persistence that this was the only opportunity for a peaceful resolution. We would have certainly supported him because a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue has always been our stance. Even if there were resistance from society, he could have presented the program to the public, just as Ter-Petrosyan did with his 'Peace or War' article, and resign, placing the proposal for this resolution at the center of his electoral program. In that case, he would have put the issue of peaceful resolution to a referendum, and we would undoubtedly have supported him, even forming a coalition with him.

Pashinyan did not experience a legitimacy crisis at that time, nor did he lack public support. But fearing that a portion of the supportive public could adopt an opposing stance, or might label him a 'traitor', he chose a path that led to destruction. It was precisely with this behavior that he rejected peace talks and provoked war, destroying both Artsakh and Armenia,” Zurabyan wrote.