William Bairamian
The Russian Foreign Ministry has released an extraordinary statement on what is happening in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Armenia.
What’s more, the Russian MFA has effectively confirmed that Nikol Pashinyan has treasonously colluded to undermine the sovereignty of Artsakh and the security of Armenia, leading to the ethnic cleansing of over a hundred thousand ethnic Armenians from their millennia-old homeland in favor of appeasing Western powers.
One thing to note is how pointed the statement is, quite unusual for any diplomatic text, especially one from the Russians. Some highlights: “Had Nikol Pashinyan agreed to a ceasefire a few weeks earlier, the defeat would have been less severe.” Within a few weeks of the start of the 2020 War, it became clear to anyone not dependent on the Pashinyan regime’s own atrocious misinformation, that Armenia was either outgunned, outplanned, and/or outmaneuvered.
Nevertheless, Pashinyan, inexplicably, kept pushing on, though only in speech, not in action. He kept calling for recruits, but not engaging the standing army, or the reserves; he kept calling for volunteers to fight and die in a great patriotic war, while not availing Armenia of the weaponry at its disposal. Groups of men were being massacred in by drones, with no apparent change in Armenian strategy. Most befuddling of all was that there seemed to be no urgency in stopping the bloodbath. With the Russian MFA’s statement, it has become clear that Pashinyan prolonged the war unnecessarily, cost the lives of thousands more young Armenian men, lost Shushi, and made it practically impossible for Artsakh to recuperate from the defeat.
“In regional affairs, instead of adhering to the gentlemen’s agreement reached by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia in November 2020 to leave the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh’s status to future generations, Nikol Pashinyan succumbed to Western influence.” This is a bombshell. The Russian MFA is suggesting that there was an agreement, including with Azerbaijan, that the issue was not to be immediately resolved, and that Pashinyan reneged on his commitment, and circumvented both Russia and Azerbaijan to pursue an alternate path with parties in the West that were not present at the time of the ceasefire. Extraordinary.
“In Prague and Brussels, the decision was made to act based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration by recognizing Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh. This fact fundamentally altered the circumstances that were in place when the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020 was signed, as well as the situation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.”
In Pashinyan’s ploy to “recognize” that Azerbaijan has a right to Artsakh, which he cannot unilaterally do, he obviated the role of the Russian peacekeepers whose presence was contingent on a pending final agreement between the parties. If Artsakh was considered a part of Azerbaijan according to Pashinyan, then that implied that the status of Artsakh was settled, thus leading to Azerbaijan’s belief that it was justified in reclaiming territory that it considered its own, which resulted in military action to “retake” the territory, solely precipitated by Pashinyan indicating to Azerbaijan through his statement that Armenia would not intervene.
“In particular, Nikol Pashinyan failed to sign the decision agreed by all six foreign ministers to deploy a CSTO observer mission to the areas bordering on Azerbaijan.” What is the last thing one would want if they wanted to help someone steal something if not a group of trained eyes watching? Pashinyan loudly criticized the CSTO, but apparently refused to allow the stationing of a CSTO mission to monitor border areas, many of which have, since 2020, come under fire, attack, and occupation by Azerbaijan. It is important to note here that this has to do with Armenia’s security, not Artsakh’s.
“The situation was further exacerbated by Armenia’s persistent denial of the continued presence of Armenian armed formations in Nagorno-Karabakh after November 9, 2020, which became one of the key reasons for the escalation in September.” This is absolutely incredible. Russia is unequivocally saying that Armenia prevented Armenians from defending themselves through military units, thus leaving them utterly defenseless when Azerbaijan attacked yet again in September. Again: Pashinyan and his government actively neutered a potential Armenian defense against another Azerbaijani attack. “Notably, during the above meetings in Prague and Brussels under the auspices of the European Union, the Prime Minister of Armenia acknowledged Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, but failed to address the rights and safety of the Karabakh Armenians.”
Russia is saying in no uncertain terms that Pashinyan abandoned Artsakh’s Armenians, while giving a free pass to Azerbaijan, which the latter then used to launch a military operation that not only killed more Armenians but also sealed Artsakh’s fate. This might seem hyperbolic if it were not confirmed by every last instance of inaction on the part of Pashinyan and his government to intervene in the progressive elimination of Artsakh’s Armenian population, as well as the nonchalant betrayal of Artsakh to the whims of Azerbaijan’s violent dictatorship.
“The Prime Minister of Armenia should be well aware of the fact that, unlike the West which has become quite skilled in organizing color revolutions, Moscow does not engage in such activities.” This is where the Russians could have shown a bit more self-awareness. In 2018, they did not seem terribly concerned that a color revolution took place in Armenia that wrought this tragedy not only upon their longtime ally but also on the relationship they are now lamenting the loss of. That said, this statement proves beyond a reasonable doubt – if anyone had one after November 9, 2020, to begin with – that in conjunction with the members of his regime, Nikol Pashinyan has betrayed Artsakh and, what’s more, he has betrayed Armenia. We did not need the Russians to tell us, but we can add this to a long list of evidence that proves the point. There has been no greater traitor in Armenian history than Nikol Pashinyan.
The Statement: https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1906229/?lang=en&clear_cache=Y