Armenia`s former Defense Minister: We will definitely return Artsakh,  we lost the battle, but not the war

ArmInfo. In early October,  former head of military intelligence of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Arshak Karapetyan announced the start of political activity and the establishment of the new political movement "Liberation of Armenia from internal and external enemies."

In his video message on the social network, he noted that he intends to create a reliable and  secure system that will preserve the country's statehood and ensure  the further development of the republic. According to him, citizens  will very soon be convinced of the seriousness of his intentions.   Referring to his dismissal, Karapetyan said it happened because he  did not accept the ultimatum presented by the Azerbaijani Armed  Forces and gave the order to open fire in case of violation of  Armenia's state border. The former head of the Ministry of Defense  stated that the tragedy in Nagorno-Karabakh occurred due to the  cowardice and betrayal of the Armenian authorities, who abandoned the  people of NK to their fate.

Today, the former Minister of Defense agreed to answer several  questions of ArmInfo.

- There is some skepticism regarding your intentions, how serious and  justified are they?

-I am sure that I do not leave the impression of a frivolous person.  I think those who know me and know me closely will confirm this. In  the near future I will prove this with my concrete actions and steps.  At the same time,  I want to draw your attention to the fact I don't  like to talk a lot, but just get on with things.

-  What is the purpose of your declared movement, what is it? Do you  intend to unite parties and public organizations to achieve your  goals? If so, can you indicate these forces? What steps do you intend  to take - hold rallies, marches or any other actions?

- The movement will unite all Armenian patriots, regardless of  whether it is an organization, a party or individuals. The process is  already underway. Just a few days after my statement, I received more  than 12 thousand applications from individuals of Armenian  nationality from all over the world and, of course, from Armenia.  Currently, as you probably know, the Armenian National Front,  represented by Gevorg Gevorgyan, has already announced its readiness  to join us. The organization is now actively working. Other  organizations will make their announcements in the near future. You  will find all the information on the website that we are launching.  All your questions will be answered there.

- Do you see opportunities for the return of Artsakh?

- We will definitely return Artsakh. Without Artsakh, Armenia will be  very vulnerable. We lost the battle, but not the war. There are  specific tasks that we will solve after we get rid of the current  government of traitors and cowards. This is impossible with them. The  Armenian people in their entire centuries-old history have never  experienced such a shame, which they allowed. They must answer for  the surrender of our Artsakh! And they will answer!

- The current authorities are actively using the thesis that the  former authorities did not buy weapons, and Russia did not fulfill  its allied obligations. To what extent does this accusation  correspond to reality, taking into account the amount of weapons that  the Artsakh Defense Army transferred to Azerbaijan?

- Do you know what our authorities do best? To involve our people in  the "showdowns" of the past, to drag everyone into this adventure, so  that people do not see their present and do not understand that a  serious threat hangs over the nation. Thus, the authorities justify  their, to put it mildly, incompetence and cowardice. Regarding the  issue of weapons, I will say that, as Minister of Defense, I agreed  on large supplies of weapons from the Russian Federation, even  logistical issues have already been practically resolved. There was  already an agreement to begin modernization of the RA Armed Forces  together with the RF Armed Forces. In 2023, for more than a month,  about 30 generals and senior officers and top-level specialists from  several academies of the RF Armed Forces worked in the General Staff  of the RA Armed Forces. As a result of the completion of  modernization, by 2023 we would have a qualitatively new Armed Forces  of Armenia. In such conditions, as you understand, we would have  preserved Artsakh. I will say more: previously, arms supplies worth  many hundreds of millions of US dollars from the Russian Federation,  within the framework of "Military-Technical Assistance", were not  sold to Armenia, but were practically given as a gift. We once  transferred some of these weapons to Artsakh. And, as you correctly  noted, then the Artsakh Defense Army handed it over to Azerbaijan.

- One more question. Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of the RA National  Assembly, said on one occasion that when making accusations against  the authorities, you should present the facts you have, can you  present them?

- I agree with the MP. I will do so when the current authorities  resign. It's no use now. This also applies to the surrender of Ruben  Vardanyan. The authorities are fabricating criminal cases, mostly  against the military personal. They talk about democracy, but they  themselves block everyone who tries to stop them.  More and more  cases are being opened and arrests are being made. They have taken  over the entire law enforcement system. But I know a lot of patriots  from this system. As soon as I announced my entry into the political  struggle, the very next day my relatives were summoned and fired from  the civil service. My neighbor, a simple contract sergeant, was fired  for one Facebook like on my page. I would not be surprised at the new  criminal cases that have been drawn up. This is the level of our  authorities. I don't remember anything like this under any  government! Back in 2018, in the presence of witnesses, I told the  head of state that he could not be prime minister. To his question:  , I answered that his place was in Parliament. We  are working now! And Victory will be ours!

- Thanks for the interview

- Thank you for your questions.