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The recent war in Artsakh could have been averted, Vazgen Manukyan, the joint candidate of Armenia's opposition forces for interim prime minister, said at a rally demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on Saturday.

He noted that all failed negotiations and Armenia’s loss of all allies were a result of “either a great ignorance or a great betrayal”.

"We could have won the war, although before the war all the necessary work had to be done, but it was not done. It’s said at times that a period of 2.5 years was not enough. In 1990s, we created an army from scratch in 2.5 years and inflicted a disgraceful defeat on the enemy. Even if we were not ready for a war, as a last resort we could have signed this agreement earlier. We would have had fewer casualties, thousands of young people laid to rest at Yerablur [Military Pantheon] would have returned to their homes. But this was not done,” he said.

In Manukyan’s words, that is the reason why the Armenian people found themselves in a situation where there is anarchy and negligence in the country: “There is no war any longer, but we continue to give up [territories]. If this continues, Armenia will soon either disappear from the political map of the world or turn into something miserable that no one will pay attention to. Now we are going down that path,” the opposition leader said.

Vazgen Manukyan expressed confidence that the Armenian people will bounce back and will be able to defend their rights again.

“We must be able to fulfill the behest of our fallen soldiers – to build a free and powerful country where people will live with pride in a free, prosperous and fair environment. Let's vow that we will fulfill that request,” he said.