What was Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023, and how did Harutyunyan leave? The MP explains

The tragic events of September 2023 in Nagorno-Karabakh, which led to the complete exodus of the Armenian population, remain the subject of heated debate and mutual accusations between the Armenian authorities and opposition. Each accuses the other of the loss of Artsakh and ethnic cleansing.

The opposition considers what happened as a consequence of the “treacherous policy” of Nikol Pashinyan's team, claiming that the latter abandoned Karabakh to its fate. The government and its supporters reproach the opposition with the fact that the Karabakh leadership missed the opportunity to keep Artsakh Armenian in 2023 with the help and “prompting” of its leaders. The Armenian opposition is blamed for pushing official Stepanakert to refuse negotiations with Baku in Sofia and Bratislava, as well as for organizing a kind of “palace coup” in Karabakh, forcing then-President Araik Harutyunyan to resign. All this, according to the Armenian leadership, provoked the Azerbaijani aggression and subsequent processes.

In an interview with Sputnik Armenia, the deputy of the National Assembly of Karabakh, head of the faction of the “Democratic Party of Artsakh” David Melkumyan refutes the allegations that Harutyunyan was forced to resign, as well as the fact that the Karabakh leadership rejected the proposals for negotiations with Baku, put forward shortly before the Azerbaijani aggression and deportation. Melkumyan himself, along with acting Security Council Secretary Sergei Martirosyan, held talks with Azerbaijanis in Yevlakh in September, but after the September 19-20 fighting.

Melkumyan claims that everyone was against Harutyunyan's resignation, but they were put before the fact. The parliamentary factions of Nagorno-Karabakh were in no way the initiators of Harutyunyan's resignation. Moreover, neither former presidents Arkady Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan, who are currently in a Baku prison with him, nor any other politician wanted Harutyunyan's resignation. Although everyone was saying that as soon as favorable conditions arise, presidential elections should be organized. The processes that led to Harutyunyan's resignation were generated by him. And after his resignation it was necessary to prevent a constitutional crisis. And in the end it was decided to elect a new leader - Samvel Shahramanyan.

Even before the large-scale aggression, there were constant negotiations with Azerbaijan in one form or another, Melkumyan says. They were conducted by Araik Harutyunyan and some other representatives of the military-political leadership, such as ex-Commander of the Defense Army and former Secretary of the NKR Security Council Samvel Babayan. Armenia was also negotiating with Azerbaijan.

As for the proposal to go to Sofia, which Shahramanyan also mentioned earlier, it was put forward even before the resignation of Harutyunyan, who, according to the MP, was the only one with whom the Armenian authorities were in contact.

“Initially, the thesis that Stepanakert refused to negotiate with Baku is not true. There was a proposal for a meeting: Nagorno-Karabakh did not reject it, although it said it had its own proposals as well. Nagorno-Karabakh's position was not so strong that Stepanakert could reject the proposals for negotiations. And I must say that all these discussions, discussions, this whole process was held with the participation of the Armenian authorities,” our interlocutor added.

However, even if the Karabakh delegation had gone to Sofia or somewhere else, to imagine that Azerbaijan would have signed a peace treaty and everything would have fallen into place is a fantasy. Melkumyan is convinced that it would be another imitation of negotiations. In the end we have seen what Baku's goal was.

Melkumyan stated that there will still be an opportunity to analyze what happened in those September days soberly and without emotions, including the results of the negotiations in Yevlakh. He is convinced that the people are not ready to accept explanations yet: numerous social problems don't let people get into the essence of what happened. But he is sure of one thing: Samvel Shahramanyan's steps allowed saving tens of thousands of lives - military and civilian. As a result of the actions of the authorities it was possible to organize a relatively safe evacuation.

Let us recall that on September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh. The next day Stepanakert accepted the ceasefire proposal, and on September 24 the forced resettlement of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh began.

Reprinted from https://am.sputniknews.ru/