Opposition MP: We will lose Artsakh and Armenia If we hesitate
Vahe Hakobyan, an MP from the opposition Hayastan faction and head of the Reviving Armenia party, stresses the need for immediate steps to get Artsakh and Armenia out of the current situation.
"We don't have time to wait. If we hesitate, we will lose Artsakh and then Armenia," he told reporters after leaving the sessions hall of the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The opposition factions boycotted this week’s parliament session, announcing their intention to leave for Artsakh in a show of support for the Artsakh Armenians.
Hakobyan says their visit to Artsakh has a clear agenda, adding one of their goals is to ensure that the Artsakh people do not “feel abandoned”.
Hayastan faction head Seyran Ohanyan in turn reacted to the statements of the ruling Civil Contract faction MPs that the visit of opposition MPs to Artsakh would put the local Armenian population in danger.
"The incumbent authorities themselves dragged the country into war. These are not just words. During the war they did nothing to tap the potential of the Armenian people and to protect Artsakh, they did nothing to ensure the security of Armenia's borders in the future. And today they blindly succumb to the Turkish-Azerbaijani deception in the negotiation process,” the deputy said.
He cited the government program which says that “peace is the security guarantee for the Armenian government.”
Ohanyan states it is an ignorant statement because peace cannot be a guarantee, but a fundamental security value, while guarantees can be national and international, including the army, law enforcement agencies, consolidation, economy, competent foreign policy and negotiations.
"The experience shows that today's negotiators must change, because the defeated authorities are constantly under coercion, diktat and pressure. With these steps we mark red lines beyond which no step can be taken,” the MP noted.
“Concessions and pleas do not help make peace. National and international guarantees are required, that is, the army must be restored, but they have done nothing in the recent 1.5 years to form this security system together with the army at a fast pace," Ohanyan said.
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