
ArmInfo. Artur Khachatryan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition "Armenia" faction, recalled how many times the current Armenian government, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has made unilateral concessions to Azerbaijan, contrary to national interests.
In a video published on his Facebook page, the opposition MP, addressing Pashinyan and his allies' claims that they have not surrendered anything to the Azerbaijanis during the so-called peace process, emphasized that this is a lie. "Pashinyan and his supporters are screaming and insisting they haven't surrendered anything to Azerbaijan, claiming they're defending Armenia's interests. But they're lying. They've surrendered Artsakh and Armenian territories, given up the road through Syunik, and pledged to change the Constitution. They're already changing our history, and a little further, they'll change the name of our country," Khachatryan declared.
In this regard, the MP decided to recall several episodes in which the Armenian government made further concessions. As the opposition member recalled, the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 (signed following the 44-day war - ed.) stated that troops would remain in the positions they occupied at the time of the ceasefire. "The ink hadn't even dried on the paper yet, and the Armenian prime minister had already withdrawn Armenian troops tens of kilometers. Why did he do this? Did he voluntarily surrender territories, or did Azerbaijan simply demand it of him?" Khachatryan asked, rather rhetorically.
Furthermore, the opposition member noted, the signed statement contained no clause requiring Armenia to withdraw its Armed Forces from Artsakh. And here, as Khachatryan noted, the question arises again: how was this done-voluntarily or at Azerbaijan's latest demand? In this regard, he recalled the situation in the village of Shurnukh, where, as a result of decisions by the Armenian authorities, the village was divided into two parts, and territories inhabited by the Armenian population, along with their property, came under Azerbaijani control. The MP noted that he himself had seen the text of the statement, which Pashinyan initially claimed did not exist, but later acknowledged.
"I hope it will be declassified so that everyone can read it and see exactly what took place in Shurnukh. How a road of crucial strategic importance was surrendered to Azerbaijan," Khachatryan stated. Furthermore, the MP recalled, under the pretext of border delimitation and demarcation, the Armenian authorities in Kirants again ceded vital territories to Azerbaijan. "They built a wall there and declared it a wall of peace. But walls are built to defend against enemies. Take the Great Wall of China or the Berlin Wall for example. And why, in this case, has Azerbaijan not returned even a millimeter of territory to Armenia? In Tavush, for example, Azerbaijan occupied Armenian territories," the MP noted.
He also recalled how the Armenian prime minister had assured that border demarcation and delimitation should be based on the 1975 maps of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. However, as the opposition leader noted, Azerbaijan presented a new demand, and the Armenian side once again complied. "Recently, an agreement was reached with Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev to create new maps. But why do we need new maps if we have the 1975 map?" the MP expressed indignation.
The Armenian authorities, he said, also tacitly accepted the Azerbaijani text of the so-called peace treaty. Khachatryan recalled that this very text was written in Baku, noting that this was confirmed by the Armenian authorities themselves. Speaking about the "Trump route" (TRIPP), the opposition leader noted that this has been stated repeatedly: this route does not solve the problem of unblocking Armenia. "Azerbaijan gets unimpeded passage through our country, and in exchange, Armenia gets fourth-class grain and a 'small mug of fuel.' And how did it happen that the Armenian government wrote a Constitution that no longer contains the clauses that previously displeased Azerbaijan? How did it happen that Pashinyan and Aliyev have the same understanding of the Armenian Constitution? And no matter how much Pashinyan claims this is the 'real Armenia,' he agreed not to use symbols that 'allergize' his neighbors, such as Mount Ararat. So, it turns out that we invaded their territory? Azerbaijan demands, Pashinyan agrees. And then they try to claim they haven't conceded anything," Khachatryan remarked.
In light of the above, he called on Armenian citizens to participate in the parliamentary elections on June 7 and prevent further concessions. "If you don't want the number of these concessions to increase, then let's reject force number 16 this year, and vote for number 17 (Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc - ed.) in the parliamentary elections on June 7, because 'Together we can,'" the oppositionist concluded.