Armenia`s authorities rejected Russia as mediator, but demanded  actions from Moscow - Robert Kocharyan 

ArmInfo. It is simply unrealistic to form an alliance of 15 or 20 forces, it will not work, there is no need to deceive yourself. This was stated by the second  President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan at a meeting with students and  teachers of the "Armenian University" to clarify whether it is now  possible to unite the opposition field of Armenia and combine efforts  in a joint fight against the current situation.

"What do we mean by unity? If in our understanding it is simply to  gather all the oppositionists and say:  "You are all together", then  this will not happen. Let's not deceive ourselves. Yes, I see that it  is possible to unite around a certain goal. Certain tactical  agreements are possible. But people are very different. There is a  question of approaches, a question of perception and a question of  personal relationships. I think it is realistic to pursue a common  goal, set the rules of the game and agree with each other. Those who  succeed should form a coalition and work together. Yes, this is a  classic model that works everywhere. If, for example, elections are  approaching, then forming alliances during these elections - yes. But  forming an alliance in which there will be 15 or 20 forces is simply  unrealistic, it will not work, let's not deceive ourselves. Good  wishes are not always a working formula," Kocharyan said.

When asked what main factor or factors prevented Levon Ter-Petrosyan,  his government, Serzh Sargsyan and Nikol Pashinyan from creating a  strong state that would confront Azerbaijan, and the catastrophe of  2020 would not have occurred, consolidating the result of May 12,  1994, the second president of Armenia noted that he does not agree  with such a formulation of the question.

"I was president for 10 years. During these 10 years, have you ever  heard any impudent statements from Azerbaijan, any steps that could  arouse suspicions among our public that we are not protected? Has  anything like this ever happened? I have never had such concerns. The  quality of our army was one step ahead of Azerbaijan. If they made  any carelessness, we responded to them doubly. It cannot be said that  we did not create this country. We created it, and I must say, after  me, a lot of attention was paid to security issues, but I explained  it to you in general terms. In Russian they say "to break is not to  build". 

You can build something for many years, but you can destroy it in 1-2  years," the politician noted.  Kocharyan noted that the current Prime  Minister of Armenia has recently been echoing that "Peace is  literally our security instrument," but peace is a product of  security, how can it be an instrument?

"To get this product, you solve security issues. When they say that  peace is a tool, it means that these people do not understand the  fundamental issues. Now that you have made a choice together with the  whole nation, you got on a bus whose driver does not know how to  drive. He does not know how to drive, does not know the direction,  does not know where to press the brakes, does not know where the  other is. We sit in this bus and shout "hurray". I would very much  like to have such a romantic nation and a very pragmatic leader. It  seems to me that this would be the best: a pragmatic leader and a  romantic nation, because all nations need this romanticism. But when  a leader goes beyond pragmatism and becomes a romantic, this  romanticism becomes a problem for the people," the former president  of Armenia noted.

He reiterated once again that a person who is not in his place is a  problem. Kocharyan noted that this war should not have happened. "We,  the Armenians, the government of Armenia provoked this war. Yes, they  failed the negotiations, made irresponsible and loud statements, did  everything so that Turkey would support Azerbaijan with all its  might, and in the end we got it. Now it turns out that everyone is to  blame. It turns out that they surrendered Artsakh in 1991, according  to the Almaty Declaration," the politician noted.

Kocharyan noted that the UN recently voted on an anti-Russian  resolution. The US voted against, Armenia voted for. "Okay, you're  not a fool, are you? What do you want? Today, 60% of our trade  turnover is with Russia. In my time, trade with the European Union  was about 22-24% of foreign trade turnover. Now it's only 6-7%. Trade  with Russia was 25% then, now it's 55-60%. Don't you understand that  after such a step, you may have problems that you won't be able to  get out of? Okay, you and your family won't starve, but what will  your entire agriculture do, what will people do, and such a level of  irresponsibility amazes me, frankly," he continued.

At the same time, Kocharyan stated that he does not consider it  realistic to talk about a security zone around Nagorno-Karabakh at  the moment, but security guarantees are a UN resolution,  representatives, a certain autonomous status that would be guaranteed  by international treaties, and an international observation mission.

"I understand that, but a security zone is hard to imagine and  unrealistic. Of course, you can ask this question, but in my opinion,  a realistic picture is certain security guarantees. Guarantees also  imply a certain presence. The greater this presence, the better, and  this depends solely on the negotiation process.  What are you trying  to achieve? First of all, do you set this goal for yourself or not?  The Republic of Armenia does not set such a goal. What did Armenia  do? Imagine that Russian troops were there, 2,000 people, providing  security and doing a good job, I tell you, up to a certain point. And  at that time, the leader of Armenia goes to Prague and says: "I  recognize Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan." The Russians do not  negotiate, do not take any position. Do you understand? Do you  seriously think that Russia is a country that can be treated like  that? This does not happen in international relations. In fact, they  thereby removed the seat from under Russia as a mediator.

They say: "It's you, it's Karabakh, it's Azerbaijan, go and negotiate  with each other." This does not happen in international relations.  No, it simply does not happen. And, in fact, they have taken away  Russia's place as a mediator. They say: "You, Karabakh, Azerbaijan,  go and negotiate with each other." Azerbaijan says:  "But you are a  mediator between us and Armenia." Is it possible that you are now  representing Karabakh?  And now they have knocked the mediator's  chair out from under Russia's feet, and they are still making claims:  "Why did you do this, why didn't you do that?" It is precisely for  such mistakes that one has to pay an extremely high price," he summed  up.