24.06.2021.<\/p>\n
Serzh Sargsyan\u2019s decision to become Armenia\u2019s prime minister\u2014despite earlier promises not to\u2014ultimately paved the way to the 44-day war, the former president acknowledged in an interview with BBC News Russian. Sargsyan admitted that he took the position of prime minister following the country\u2019s constitutional reform, despite having previously pledged not to do so.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI was ready to bear the label of a traitor if that\u2019s what it took to solve the issue and avoid such a fate,\u201d Serzh Sargsyan said. \u201cI didn\u2019t care about my approval rating or how history would remember me. What mattered to me was resolving the problem. I\u2019m speaking honestly\u2014I\u2019ve said this to everyone, and I\u2019ll say it to you as well: I remained in the position of prime minister because my colleagues urged me to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Serzh Sargsyan also blamed Nikol Pashinyan for provoking the 44-day war in 2020:<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHe certainly had numerous opportunities to stop the military actions. These aren\u2019t just my assumptions \u2014 the President of Russia mentioned it in his statements, as you\u2019ve noted. There were also many serious mistakes made before that. We\u2019re not saying the war began solely because of Armenia\u2019s errors. Of course not. Azerbaijan had always aimed to resolve the issue by force. But its actions would never have been legitimized \u2014 at least not in the eyes of the international community \u2014 not the way it happened on September 27.\nIn fact, the international community didn\u2019t react as it should have. What did we see on September 27 and afterward? Just a few timid statements that couldn\u2019t restrain Azerbaijan, let alone Turkey.\nSerious mistakes were made before that. I would even say grave crimes, committed right after they came to power. They began discrediting the army, nearly dismantling it. They thought there wouldn\u2019t be any war \u2014 because they were democratic, because they had the support of a significant part of the population, because they were legitimate, and so on. Who would dare to attack a country with such democratic and legitimate authorities? Especially when, as he later claimed, there were tensions in the attacking country.\u201d\n\nAnother grave mistake followed. And I\u2019m not just talking about the statement \u2018Artsakh is Armenia, full stop!\u2019 I\u2019m referring to his declaration that there would be no negotiations unless Karabakh participated directly. How politically immature must one be not to realize that this condition was not being set for Azerbaijan, but first and foremost for the Minsk Group co-chairs?\nThe presidents of Russia, France, and the United States issued five statements \u2014 all addressing both the principles and the format of negotiations. It was evident that Karabakh could not be a full-fledged party to the talks. And by \u2018full-fledged\u2019 I mean with its own flag and president at the table. That was simply impossible.\nThen came what they called \u201cvictorious military operations\u201d in the summer of 2020 \u2014 actions which, in my view, were reckless. They backed Azerbaijan into a corner, leaving it with little choice but to respond.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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