Armenian premier turning threat of war into political tool - ex-FM

ArmInfo. On March 19, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan once again resorted to his now predictable practice of turning the threat of war not into a question of responsibility, but into a crude political tool. This time, he  went further, effectively blackmailing the Armenian people that if he  loses the upcoming elections, war will be inevitable.

This was stated by former Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan. "One would think that after wars, so many years of failures, losses, and  disappointments under Pashinyan, such statements would at least be  delivered with some seriousness or restraint. Instead, they sound  increasingly desperate, almost mechanical, as if repeating the same  thought could restore long-lost trust. Ironically, the more he tries  to push this narrative, the more it works against him," the diplomat  wrote on his Facebook page.

He is confident that Armenian society does not need to be reminded of  the war, as it lived through it, experienced all its bitterness, and  paid a high price. Oskanyan believes that every time Pashinyan raises  the topic, it does not instill fear of an uncertain future; it  resurrects very specific memories of his years in power. "The wars  during his reign weren't hypothetical; they were real, devastating,  and had serious consequences. So when he talks about war, people  can't imagine what might have happened without him; they remember  what happened during his reign, and unsurprisingly, this argument  sounds increasingly futile. A leader who has failed in foreign and  security policy is now trying to present himself as the sole  guarantor of peace. This might seem ironic if things weren't so  serious," the diplomat added, recalling that it was under Pashinyan  that opportunities were missed, warnings ignored, and proposals, such  as the 2019 version of the OSCE Minsk Group, were not only rejected  but also hidden from the public.

"But perhaps the most disturbing aspect of this rhetoric is not its  cynicism, but its utter absurdity. Pashinyan speaks as if he  possesses a unique ability to predict the timing of war, as if  geopolitical realities are shaped by election results. But reality  suggests otherwise. On September 21, 2020, just six days before the  start of the 44-day war, he presented his "Armenia 2050" concept in  the Matenadaran, full of grandiose ambitions and unrealistic  optimism. Not a word, not a hint, not a sign that the country would  be on the brink of one of the most devastating wars in modern  history. So the question remains: if he couldn't predict a war that  would begin in a few days, then on what basis is he now trying to  predict a war this fall?" Oskanyan asked.

In his opinion, these constant reminders of war speak more to the  incompetence and failures of the person making these statements than  to the dangers facing Armenia. The former Armenian Foreign Minister  believes that Pashinyan's statements reflect not strategic thinking  but political madness, not leadership but improvisation. "And perhaps  most tellingly, this approach underestimates the very people he is  trying to influence, assuming they will forget or ignore what they  have already experienced. This is perhaps the clearest evidence of  his detachment from reality," Oskanyan concluded.

The day before, in a conversation with journalists, the Armenian  prime minister assured that if the opposition wins the upcoming  parliamentary elections, Armenia will face a new war, most likely  this fall.  He justified his statements by claiming that the  opposition would begin to revise the peace his government had  established.