Hadrut Should Be Liberated Through Peaceful Negotiations, as Should Shushi and Other Villages - Arthur Tovmasyan

There came a moment when the Republic of Armenia was not only not the guarantor of the Republic of Artsakh but also of the people of Armenia. This was stated today, April 2, in a conversation with journalists by the President of the Artsakh National Assembly, Arthur Tovmasyan.

“On November 9, about two thousand Turks were in the city of Shushi, and about four thousand more were moving towards Stepanakert. On that day, a few hundred people remained in Stepanakert. That was the situation. We didn’t know that an agreement had been signed. A few deputies who remained in the National Assembly were supposed to meet the Turks with weapons and grenades. The commander’s heart couldn’t take it, he died. Tomorrow we will hand over the one who liberated Shushi to our motherland,” said Arthur Tovmasyan.

According to him, Turkey was also involved in the April War, from which conclusions should be drawn.

“During the first war, there was also support from Turkey, but that was moral support. In April 2016, Turkish generals participated as well; we should have drawn conclusions. We had information that a high-ranking Turkish military officer had died in the direction of Aghdam. This means that the Turks were already trying to enter the region. And on September 27, 2020, Erdogan stated that the OSCE Minsk Group could not resolve this conflict, I will resolve it through war,” said Tovmasyan.

In his opinion, when the Minister of High-Tech Industry slapped a journalist, apologized, and resigned, while a member of the National Assembly slapped 10 million Armenians by declaring that Karvachar was not Armenian and did not apologize, “Questioning the Armenianness of Shushi was also a slap. Shushi was the first capital of Artsakh; it was an educational center of Transcaucasia.”

According to Arthur Tovmasyan, if Artsakh remains part of Azerbaijan, it will be ethnically cleansed: “This should be well understood by the government, the opposition, and the people of the Republic of Armenia. The issue of the status of Artsakh should be resolved under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. Our generation has participated in three wars; our casualties are born in 2001-2002. Now should we build friendships with Aliyev? How do we correct our relations with them? Today, the Russian peacekeeper is the guarantor of the security of the people of Artsakh alongside the Army of Artsakh. The issue of the status of Artsakh is very important; we are living there now, but we need to endure, and that is only possible when we have a clear status—whether it will be reunification with Armenia or any vertical subordination with Azerbaijan is excluded,” emphasized Arthur Tovmasyan.

When asked what territories the status of Artsakh should be determined by, those existing before the war or the territories remaining after the war, Tovmasyan replied that negotiations should be conducted, and we insist that Hadrut should be liberated through peaceful negotiations, as well as Shushi and all those villages remaining under enemy control.

It is noted that exactly five years ago, on the night of April 1-2, 2016, the Azerbaijani side began large-scale offensive operations against the Republic of Artsakh, using almost all types of military equipment available in its arsenal.