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Elinar Vardanyan, an expert of the Alternative Projects Group, has reacted to the latest news conference of Armenia’s second President and opposition Hayastan bloc leader Robert Kocharyan.

"Different people highlight various parts of President Robert Kocharyan's news conference – the real security situation, the most serious problems in the army, the country's transformation into a bastion of ignorance and legal arbitrariness, diplomatic perversity, Armenian-Turkish relations, the country's social and economic issues, including economic recession, inflation and indexation. This speaks to the success of the press conference. Everyone captures the points of general and private interest. But I would like to focus on the president's statements on Artsakh,” she said in an article on Tuesday.

“Two days ago, Pashinyan, in fact, announced that Armenia is no longer a guarantor of Artsakh, questioning its Armenian identity and right to self-determination.

Kocharyan stated the opposite: we must strive to restore at least the territorial integrity of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, the worst thing in this situation is not to try, if we take steps every day, we will deferentially achieve success somewhere and to some extent.

This was an important message to the public, prompting it to reflect on this difficult issue. We cannot give in to Pashinyan’s obvious lies, the deliberate falsification of the negotiation process through which he declares Shushi an Azerbaijani town and recognizes Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.

We cannot constantly run away from difficult questions. What is next for Artsakh? How are we going to restore our security? We cannot avoid these questions. It is not realistic to hope that with time these issues will be forgotten or left to chance.

I would like to make another simple observation that has not escaped people's attention. Talking about the fate of Artsakh and Armenia's security, normally cool and composed Kocharyan could hardly contain his anger; he could not hide his impulse, as much can still be changed, there's no need to put up with the status of a defeated and humiliated nation.

Together we can. We can consolidate under the banner of dignity and change the course of history through good governance,” reads the article.