Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) board member Eduard Sharmazanov has shared a post on Facebook presenting two proposals negotiated between 2008 and 2018 regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He stated that Armenia, under its third President Serzh Sargsyan, agreed to both versions.
According to Sharmazanov, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev himself said after the 44-day war that “Kelbajar was supposed to remain Armenian”, a reflection, he argued, of the terms Sargsyan had negotiated.
“He stood up for Artsakh, and there’s no arguing with the one who handed it over,” he wrote.
Sharmazanov noted that as early as April 2022, the RPA demanded Prime Minister Pashinyan release the negotiation package presented to him in 2019. He suggested that Pashinyan could also publish the package negotiated under Sargsyan between 2008–2018, stating there is no issue with transparency: “Let him publish it, and you’ll all agree there’s nothing to argue about.”
He then briefly outlined what Sargsyan negotiated:
Between 2008–2018, Armenian authorities discussed settling Artsakh’s status through a legally binding referendum, essentially working toward international recognition of Artsakh’s independence.
According to Sharmazanov, Armenia under Sargsyan agreed to both options:
- Option 1: A fixed date for a binding referendum would be determined. Armenian forces would withdraw from all seven regions, and the referendum would be held within a specific timeline.
- Option 2: Agreement on holding a binding referendum without setting a specific date. Armenian control over Lachin and Kelbajar would remain in place until the referendum. Armenian forces would withdraw from five other regions.
“In other words,” he emphasized, “Lachin and Kelbajar were directly tied to the referendum if no date was set.”
“That’s why Aliyev said after the war in Kelbajar that ‘Kelbajar was supposed to stay with the Armenians.’ This is what Serzh Sargsyan had negotiated. Meanwhile, the capitulator Pashinyan labeled this package and claimed he could return to it anytime.”
“Well then, go back. What’s stopping you? Bring back 5,000 lives, the health of tens of thousands wounded, return 150,000 displaced Armenians to their homes, our captives from Baku, our parades to Stepanakert…”
“And after all this, these people still shamelessly speak.”
“Compare Sargsyan’s negotiations to what Pashinyan ‘negotiated’—the loss and depopulation of Artsakh.”
P.S. “Even Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly stated this in the fall of 2023: ‘In all previous years, everything revolved around Karabakh’s status. Pashinyan closed that chapter.’”
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had previously responded to criticism from former presidents via a series of Facebook posts, reigniting the debate. “Now say it, are you coming to the debate or not?” he wrote.
