Thursday, April 29 2021 13:21

ArmInfo. We shouldn't have lost in this war like that, we shouldn't have been defeated at all, says  second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan.

Thus, the second President of the Republic of Armenia, during today's  meeting with his supporters, touching upon the reasons for the  crushing defeat in the second Artsakh war, noted that he had  repeatedly said that already on the 3-4th day of the war he saw the  obviousness of the problems faced by the Armenian side.

"The biggest problem is that the state has not taken on the burden of  managing this war. No army can fight for more than one week. In a  military action of this magnitude, the usual calculation is that the  army will hold out for 5 to 7 days, and then the replenishment of its  ranks will begin. The biggest problem was precisely this. The army  took the first blow, but for the continuation of hostilities, other  processes had to begin - the work of the rear, the state, general  mobilization, replenishment of the Armed Forces and the correct  management of the mobilization resource " , - said Kocharyan, stating  that all this did not happen.

According to him, this is precisely why the position of the Armenian  side was not very deplorable for the first 4-5 days, only 3-4 km in  the south there was a breakthrough by the enemy of the front line of  14 km, and in the north - in a 5-km sector, they advanced.

Kocharyan stressed that after that, the state with all its might  should have entered the game, but did not.  According to him, it was  with this that the retreat began in other directions. At the same  time, the second RA President noted that this is precisely why he is  disappointed, and he does not have answers to many questions.

"We will receive answers to these questions after June 21, and before  that we should not expect. We must understand what else is under the  statement of the General Staff of the General Staff of Armenia," he  said, adding that " there is still a lot to say and it is necessary  to understand that>. "I have the impression that this is a planned  defeat. You need to understand the motivation, who planned it and who  implemented it," Kocharyan said.

Touching upon the issue of returning prisoners of war from  Azerbaijani captivity, the second President of Armenia expressed his  conviction that for their return it is necessary to increase pressure  on Azerbaijan. He added that it is difficult to keep prisoners for a  long time, since the country is under constant pressure. He recalled  that during the first war, the Armenian side had about 130-140  prisoners, and not that it was a pleasure to contain them, since the  pressure was strong.  "Armenia should use its full diplomatic  potential to increase pressure from international structures and  various countries on Azerbaijan," Kocharyan said, adding that then  the issue will be resolved to get rid of unnecessary headaches.  

However, in his words, if this is done at the pace that the Armenian  side is doing now, it can last for years. According to him, a big  campaign in this direction should begin.  "I get the impression that  they still expect something from our state, so they continue to hold  prisoners of war, otherwise it makes no sense, since this affects the  image of the state," he said, suggesting that the issue may be  related to the North, where there is some enclaves, or a corridor  through Syunik, or with the construction of a section of the Red  Bazar - Shushi road in Artsakh, or with a question related to the  status of the NKR Defense Army.  Kocharyan stated that Azerbaijan has  expectations on at least 4 serious issues, for the achievement of  which it seems to them that the factor of prisoners of war can be  used. "We must not allow the issue of prisoners to become a subject  of bargaining, including on territorial issues. First of all,  it is  badfor the prisoners themselves. We need to increase the pressure and  force the return of people. But when you reset everything and there  are no tools, it is difficult. In general, this is a difficult issue  in all senses, "concluded Kocharyan.