Opposition MP: Armenia's defeat in 2020 war stemmed from 'miscalculations'
Armenia’s defeat in the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) stemmed from “miscalculations” on the part of Armenian leaders, claims MP Seyran Ohanyan, head of the opposition Hayastan bloc’s parliamentary faction.
"Decision-making as a result of a correct assessment of the situation is of great importance in the state administration system," he told the discussion "Armenia's Real Agenda” on Wednesday.
The MP claimed correct assessments of the situation helped Armenia cement victories during the initial stage of the Artsakh liberation movement in 1990s.
"If not for the correct decisions, we would have had no gains for 30 years: Artsakh, its integration with Armenia and state achievements," Ohanyan said.
The opposition deputy accused the current Armenian leadership of failing to correctly analyze the situation after coming to power in 2018 and dragging the country into war with Azerbaijan.
"The 2020 war defeat resulted from miscalculations of forces. The incumbent authorities took no steps to avoid it," said Ohanyan, a former defense minister.
According to him, during the war the military’s General Staff should have made competent decisions to regroup its forces and stop the Azerbaijani advance in certain areas, however the decisions were made “on the spot”.
Ohanyan insisted that following the 44-day war the Armenian authorities failed to correctly assess the security challenges and make relevant decisions.
He highlighted that all opposition proposals related to Artsakh were rejected by MPs of the ruling Civil Contract faction.
“After analyzing the whole situation, we come to the conclusion that although poor knowledge of the military administration led us to defeat, our soldiers and commanders did everything to save the situation at various stages of hostilities,” Ohanyan added.