Arayik Harutyunyan: He sees the future of Armenia and Artsakh in the  framework of deeper military-political cooperation with Russia

ArmInfo.After the ceasefire of May 12, 1994, our military and political leadership did not learn the right lessons from world examples and, having an advantage in the  negotiation process, could not find more favorable solutions. This  was stated by the President of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan during a  meeting with the employees of the Ministry of Urban Development and  Construction Companies of Artsakh.

"Why did you fight? Because all together they said not an inch of  land to the enemy, " Harutyunyan said.  Presenting the course of the  44-day war, he noted that the consequences of the war were clear to  him in early October, but the political forces of Armenia did not  come to a common denominator. "There was no political consensus or  consensus between the opposition, pro-government forces, and the  government, and stopping the war in those days was considered a  betrayal," the President of Artsakh said.

At the same time, he assured that the war would have had a completely  different course if the Defense Army had not fought with the  Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem. According to him, there is also reliable  information about the fate of terrorists and mercenaries in the war.

"On the part of the enemy, Turkey participated in the war. And today,  Turkish officials say: "Together with Azerbaijan, we managed to  achieve historical justice." More than 7,000 terrorist mercenaries  took part in the second Artsakh war from Syria alone," he said, while  assuring that today the lessons from the past will be learned, and  the problems of internally displaced persons will be solved in a  short time. "Our biggest mistake was that when the Armenians were  expelled from Shahumyan, then Martakert, some villages of Hadrut,  Martuni, and Askeran on June 13, 1992, we did not stand up for them  and more than 50 thousand Armenians left Artsakh, although we had the opportunity to accommodate them. This is one of the reasons, since the population of Artsakh should not be 45 thousand, but more than 200 thousand. We did not stop even 10% of Shahumyans and these people left, " Harutyunyan complained.

At the same time, he added that he sees the future of Armenia and  Artsakh in the framework of deeper military-political cooperation in  order to counter the current situation together with Russia, since  Turkey is not going to leave the territory.

According to him, Artsakh will continue the political struggle for  the return of the territories occupied by Azerbaijan, at least within  the borders of the NKAO.

Araik Harutyunyan was the head of the Government of Artsakh from  September 14, 2007 to 2018, and on May 21, 2020, he assumed the post  of President of the Republic of Artsakh. In this light, it is not  entirely clear to whom the reproaches for omissions are addressed.