Armenia`s authorities preparing further concessions to Azerbaijan - Iskhan Saghatelyan

ArmInfo. There is a tendency in Armenia, in which the current authorities are trying to turn the Armenian people into an accomplice or silent witness to the agreements reached between RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Thus, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the National Assembly of the RA from the opposition faction "Armenia", commented on the persistent attempts of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to hold debates with the former presidents of the country on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process.

According to him, the unexpected activity of Pashinyan and his wife, reminiscent of a reality show, is connected with the new concessions they are preparing for Armenia. Saghatelyan noted that the proposal for debates should be considered in this context.

"Pashinyan knew even before the proposal was made that the former presidents would refuse to participate in the debate. The reason is simple: the Armenian side did not even argue with Aliyev about whether Artsakh is Armenian. Just as it did not dispute the fact of the Genocide with Turkey. Only our enemies are trying to make these historical events a subject of dispute," Saghatelyan stated, adding that the problem is not the topic of the debate, but the attempt to find new culprits in the face of further concessions from Nikol Pashinyan.

The MP explained that this is how a new campaign to satisfy Aliyev's demands began, which includes the dissolution of the Minsk Group, the transfer of new territories under the pretext of delimitation and demarcation, the signing of the act of capitulation, the settlement of Armenia with Azerbaijanis, as well as the preparatory measures being carried out for this purpose.

In this regard, the Dashnaktsakan stressed the importance of  informing the public about the real state of affairs by all available means in order to prevent falsification of information. He also noted the need to consolidate efforts to counter the expected threats. "It is extremely important that political forces, experts and healthy layers of society do not fall into the trap set by Pashinyan and do not become part of the false agenda dictated by him," the MP explained. 

In this vein, he also noted the importance of the public awareness work carried out by former Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and stressed the need to develop reasoned alternative proposals.

Earlier, Nikol Pashinyan stated that since 1994, that is, after the  ceasefire, the negotiation process was conducted exclusively around the return of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. These statements by the Armenian Prime Minister were harshly reacted to in the offices of the RA presidents, under whom the negotiation process was taking place. In response to the criticism, Pashinyan invited the presidents to a public debate on this issue. The offices of the three Armenian presidents refused to hold a public debate, advising Pashinyan to look at the World Wide Web, where all the information about the progress and content of the negotiations around the Nagorno-arabakh conflict has long been publicly available. 

Pashinyan, however, did not calm down, calling on the former  presidents of Armenia to take advantage of his proposal for a debate, or retire and stop commenting on his theses.

In turn, former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan  "challenged" Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to a duel. He said that he was "throwing down the gauntlet" to the head of the Armenian government and was ready to debate with the prime minister, to which he had previously invited former presidents of the country.

However, the former foreign minister, who has been involved in the negotiation process around the Artsakh issue since 1992, said that he was ready to be Pashinyan's opponent in the debate only on one condition.  Oskanyan, addressing the prime minister, demanded that in the event of his loss, which he does not doubt one iota, he change the policy towards Nagorno-Karabakh and include on the agenda the issue of the right of the Artsakh people to return home.