During a press conference, Armenia’s second president Robert Kocharyan criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent declarations that “peace has arrived” for Armenia and the region, stating that this peace heavily depends on one person — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, because the documents contain no guarantees, guarantors, or mechanisms for enforcement, Pastinfo reports.
“This so-called peace rests entirely on one man’s conscience. He might have a bad dream or a bad day and suddenly decide that in this chaotic world, the Zangezur issue must also be resolved. We propose a peace that includes enforceable mechanisms,” Kocharyan said.
He stressed that while no one is against peace, it should come with guarantors who bear responsibility for upholding the terms, not just serve as witnesses.
“The United States is not offering any guarantees. This is just another trick to deceive people. As the English saying goes: if someone fools you once, shame on them; if they fool you twice, shame on you. I don’t know how many times the Armenian people can be deceived. This is yet another attempt,” he stated.
When asked if his team would cancel the Washington agreements if they came to power, Kocharyan responded: “The U.S. is not the kind of country you can sign an agreement with and then cancel it a month or six months later. That would be very difficult. We need to expand the project, show the U.S. a broader framework where Armenia’s interests are also included,” he told Aravot.
Kocharyan also remarked that, compared to the current developments, the November 9 trilateral statement signed in 2020 could now be considered an “ideal” document. “If we compare everything to what’s happening now, that document could even be called a dream deal. It at least envisioned the continued existence of Artsakh,” he said.
On August 8, a trilateral summit was held at the White House between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. A Joint Declaration was signed summarizing the meeting’s outcomes. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov pre-signed a draft agreement on peace and interstate relations in the presence of the leaders.
