I was ready to be called a traitor, but to solve the issue, Serzh Sargsyan says in an  interview with BBC Russian Service

The third President of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, spoke to the BBC’s Russian service. He said that the desire to resolve the Karabakh conflict and the start of the reconciliation process has forced him to stay in power in 2018 after two terms in power. Sargsyan expressed confidence that at that time there were all the signals for the settlement of the conflict, and the new authorities disrupted the negotiation process, making mistakes, which became one of the reasons for the defeat in the war.

BBC talked to Serzh Sargsyan about the elections and the defeat the day after the Armenian snap parliamentary elections. The bloc formed with the participation of the RPA led by him received 5% of the votes and 7 seats in parliament. Sargsyan answered the question about Nikol Pashinyan’s victory. “Yes, I think he has won, but many questions arise in connection with that victory.” He spoke about the change of the Electoral Code before the elections, the use of administrative resources during the campaign, the arrests of the bloc activists and the searches carried out.

Referring to the trilateral statement of November 9, Serzh Sargsyan said Pashinyan is accused of a situation inherited from him. “We blame the capitulator not for signing the trilateral document when the Azeris had already occupied Shushi, they were really close to Stepanakert, but for the situation he created,” Sargsyan said. “I would never find myself in such a situation. And these are not empty words, but a record of what happened twice. “During the first war, in 1992-1994, we first lost 50% of Artsakh, but we found the strength to overcome all the difficulties. As a result, we had what we had.” Sargsyan pointed out that during the escalation that took place during his rule in 2016, Azerbaijan did not have much success. Sargsyan himself does not support the thesis that Karabakh was consciously surrendered, but considers what happened to be the result of stupidity and gross mistakes.

“We do not claim that the hostilities started only because of Armenia’s mistakes. No. “Azerbaijan has always wanted to resolve the issue by military means,” Sargsyan said. However, he blames Pashinyan for the lack of a tough response from the international community to the war, which, according to him, made serious foreign policy mistakes. “It seemed to them that there would be no new military operations, because they are democratic, they have the support of the majority of the people. Who will dare to attack a country that has a democratic and legitimate government, and on the other side, the attacking side, as they say, is a dictatorship? It is a childish thinking, but it did not concern them,” said Sargsyan.

In the interview, he said that he wanted to stay in power, as the Karabakh talks had already reached the final stage. “I remained Prime Minister in response to the call of my colleagues, only for the sake of bringing the negotiation process to the point that the solution of the issue does not depend on the change of the chief negotiator,” said Sargsyan. He denied that the Armenian side was engaged in delaying the talks. “Under no circumstances could you hear words from me that we will never return those territories. I even announced from the tribune of parliament that Aghdam is not my homeland. I was ready to be called a traitor, but to solve the issue so that the same fate does not befall us,” said Sargsyan.

He insisted that he almost managed to resolve the issue, active negotiations were held in 2018, which should have ended in a peaceful settlement. “The Azerbaijanis should have recognized that the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh should be determined by the free will of the people of Karabakh, which should have legal force, the agenda of which will not be limited by anything. That was our minimum threshold,” Sargsyan said, adding. “We were obliged to return the five regions to Azerbaijan. The return of the two regions, except for the corridor, which was to provide a connection with Armenia, was connected with the day of the referendum. The peacekeeping forces would come, we would start a certain settlement process.”