Armenia`s third president issues statement on 8th anniversary of his  resignation 

ArmInfo.  Third President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan issued a statement on the eighth anniversary of his resignation as head of the republic, following the so-called  Velvet Revolution of the spring of 2018.

In his statement, the politician emphasized that he was addressing  the Armenian people not as a politician, but as an Armenian, as a  person whose life and destiny are inextricably linked to this land,  this country. He recalled that his Republican Party of Armenia had  already announced its decision not to participate in the upcoming  elections.  Sargsyan added that this was not simply a political  position, but a unanimous, balanced, and well-founded decision-a  historic decision.

"In the spring of 2018, when my team and I left, we did so in  fulfillment of your will.  Eight years ago, in my resignation letter,  I wrote a sentence that, due to the editing of one of the text's  beneficiaries and the subsequent manipulations of my 'sworn' friends,  they tried to turn into a stigma against me. In my life, I have made  both good and bad decisions. My most correct and difficult decision  was to 'break my own promise' and run for prime minister in 2018.

Unfortunately, this was also my biggest mistake, because I failed to  explain to our people that the purpose of my candidacy was not to  retain power, but to ensure the security of Nagorno-Karabakh and  Armenia. Yes, Nikol was right: he was ready to go all the way and had  no red lines; I should not have run. But I was mistaken in thinking  that we could explain to our people that my departure in a difficult  negotiating situation would lead to disaster," the RPA leader stated.

Sargsyan stated that it was obvious to him that at this stage of the  negotiations, changing the negotiator and resetting the negotiating  record would have tragic consequences. And that's precisely what  happened. The third president added that this was not because he was  the best negotiator, but because he had a deep understanding of all  the parties involved, possessed institutional memory, and understood  the value of Nagorno- Karabakh and victory-as a member of the team  that created and then preserved that victory.

"Yes, Nikol was right: I couldn't explain it, but he managed to  deceive our people. I lost a lot by running for prime minister in  2018: I was misunderstood, my people rejected me.  But years later, I  can confidently say that I would go through that purgatory again  because I was convinced that this way we would prevent any  catastrophe. I couldn't explain it to the people because the people  didn't want to listen. I was 'wrong' while being right," the  politician added.

The former Armenian president emphasized that he ran for prime  minister in 2018 to guarantee the security of Armenia and Artsakh, to  prevent bloodshed on the borders, and then resigned to prevent  bloodshed within the country.

"And today, eight years after my resignation, a significant portion  of the people believe that Nikol's government will exist as long as  the 'former' leaders remain at the forefront of the political  struggle against him. I also submit to this popular demand: if my  participation and the participation of the Republican Party  contributes even one percent to the reproduction of the current  government, we will step back to give the people the opportunity to  soberly and calmly express their will, and to give other opposition  forces the opportunity to unhinderedly fulfill their promise of a  change of power through elections," the politician added.

He further recalled that he began his career by forming the Artsakh  self-defense forces and considered it the greatest honor of his life  to be a part of creating and preserving our people's victory.  Sargsyan added that during its reign, the Republican Party has done  everything for a secure Armenia and Armenian Artsakh-to worthily  preserve and carefully cherish the greatest victory of the Armenian  people in the last hundred years.

"Of course, there were mistakes and disappointments, but I am deeply  convinced that these mistakes are forgivable and correctable, and  evidence of this is the fact that today we stand before our people  without shame and with a clear conscience. It is no secret that the  Republican Party did not want to participate in the 2021 elections,  but we were forced to take this step. Unlike the opposition's  ostensible victory, sociology dictated otherwise.  We participated in  these elections to try to prevent the final betrayal and surrender of  Artsakh. It was obvious that the deceiver who lied for 44 days, "we  will win," and signed a capitulation, who promised the de-occupation  of Artsakh during the 2021 election campaign, was in fact planning to  surrender Artsakh behind the people's backs and leave the Armenians  of Artsakh alone against the enemy-thus opening the gates of Armenia  to the enemy," he continued. At the same time, Sargsyan noted that  several months ago, the Republican Party proposed impeachment as the  only realistic way to remove these authorities. "It was clear to us  that they and their foreign sponsors had already begun rigging the  elections, jailing dissenters, distributing electoral bribes from the  budget by doubling the national debt, and turning a blind eye to the  growing number of violations.  Under these conditions, in our  opinion, fair and competitive elections were impossible.   Unfortunately, however, our parliamentary colleagues chose a  different path, waiting for the elections. I wish them success in  justifying this decision," the RPA leader noted.

The former Armenian president expressed his conviction that, in this  situation, major consolidation is necessary to ensure the  opposition's victory, preventing the dispersal of votes, which would  serve the interests of the current regime. "The Republican Party will  continue to maintain its significant role as an extra-parliamentary  force - for the sake of historical memory, dignity, and the Armenian  dream. The group that has uprooted Armenia, brought it to its knees,  plunged it into debt, and flooded it with lies must go.  The  alternative is terrible: terrible for our country, our people, and  future generations. It's terrible for them, they just don't realize  it yet. They need to wake up before it's too late," Sargsyan  concluded.