We are not going to concede the “Czechoslovakia” to anyone: Nikol Pashinyan
"The situation in the Nagorno Karabakh peace talks has not really changed since 2011, because the problem is that the issue can only be resolved through compromise," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated on Friday during an interview with number of European media outlets.
At a question whether there is anything he could have done to prevent the current development, the PM said: "What is the situation we have since 2011? Naturally, compromise means agreeing to something that is not at first acceptable to you, and we have had such dynamics since 2011. What becomes acceptable to Armenia as a result of a specific concession becomes unacceptable for Azerbaijan from that moment on. And Azerbaijan expects the Armenian side, Karabakh, to make more concessions. This is the reason for the outbreak of aggression you say," said Pashinyan.
In the words of Pashinyan, the Armenian side cannot afford unlimited concessions, when the other side is not prepared for a compromise just because it has more money to buy more weapons.
"...what else could I have done to prevent this war? I could give up defending the interests of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia at all. But would that have prevented the war? No, because at the lowest point of our concession Azerbaijan should have demanded more," added the PM.
Pashinyan again made a parallel with the Munich Agreement. "Before the outbreak of World War II, the European powers thought that by ceding Czechoslovakia to Hitler they could whet his appetite and there would be no war in Europe. And what happened as a result: Hitler swallowed Czechoslovakia and as the other saying goes, appetite is aroused when eating. If the European leaders had not surrendered the Czechoslovakia, and a war started, journalists like you would say, “Is there anything you could do better? For instance, why did you not surrender the Czechoslovakia? While the questioned leaders would say, yes, we should have been a little more flexible in the case of the Czechoslovakia. They turned out to be more flexible, and what is the outcome?" said the PM
At a question what compromise he would be ready, Pashinyan replied: "We are not going to concede the Czechoslovakia to anyone."
The transcript of the full interview is available on the official website of the Prime Minister.
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