– Recently the member of the political board of the Republic party Souren Sourenyants raised the issue that some of the liberated territories should be evidently yielded to Azerbaijan for the sake of the security and maintenance of Armenian values of Karabakh. Can we admit that this is your viewpoint as well?
– In general, our party since the day of its establishment has supported the peaceful resolution of the NKR conflict. And the negotiations are not considered negotiations only when the parties tend to listen to the viewpoints of each other and to accept compromises from both sides. If there is anyone, who knows the precedent of maintaining everything with compromises I will support him/her. But currently I don’t see any other option. Moreover, due to the mentality of the people, who support this option, we currently have a territory of 28.000 square kilometers.
– So you support the return of 5 districts of the liberated territories of Karabakh.
– It is not possible to give a direct answer to this question by saying either yes or no. This issue has various nuances. If you ask me if you support what Serzh Sargsyan said yes to then I’ll say no I don’t support that option. Let his teammates comment on Sargsyan’s statements and substantiate to what extent those are right. I have numerously applied to the government and asked them to hold extraordinary elections for the sake of the NKR so that the faces of the officials representing the government would be clean. Currently the fact that the world treats us this way by putting us in tight frames is a consequence of policy of the current government and the rigged elections. They even retract from the provisions included in their pre-election platforms. Sargsyan has written in his pre-election campaign that Armenia and Karabakh should have a land border and as he states the land border and the corridor are different political categories. Land border means that Lachin should have the same status as Karabakh. But the corridor is a totally different status. If he is not able to defend what he has promised during elections then it will create a big turmoil. The signing of such a document will cause a serious political turbulence because it turns out that the government presents us one thing and then does another thing. On the other hand I am against the war. The war initiator has already gotten what it has warred for. But the issue is that I don’t see any other way to maintain what is gained. The only way of that is to go intrude Baku, conquer it; then conquer Istanbul and make a blood sea. If we have the strength and opportunities for that let’s do it. If not then we should sit at a negotiation table and find a common language in the region.
– You are criticizing the politics of the current government. But maybe the current situation is originated from the heritage of the previous government.
– I am not inclined to blame everything on one person. But Serzh Sargsyan has worked with the previous government and had played a key role. It’s not like he had worked at a cement factory like me. He has always played a decisive role and his behavior was always noticeable but he had never audibly spoken about his deeds. At the time when Robert Kocharyan stated that we and our neighbors are genetically incompatible Sargsyan didn’t say that he was against that but today he has started this policy and the world welcomes it. Same way, he didn’t speak about ousting Karabakh from the negotiation process.
– What is your opinion about the possible return of the second president of Armenia to politics?
– I have always supported open politics. It is more beneficial if Kocharyan starts to work in overt politics rather than work in the shade or from his home. As a matter of fact it is the problem of the RPA whether Kochryan will come back to politics or not. As for me I don’t see any problem here. It is the RPA that scares the people by saying you better get used to the current government. Otherwise Kocharyan will come back and it will be worse. They speak the way as though they haven’t endorsed Kocharyan with their teeth several years ago. We have nothing to be scared of. I support his return. Let him come back and become a prime minister and we’ll see how they “eat” each other. Let him come back to politics and play on his own instead of delivering his messages or statements via Victor Soghomonyan.
– So, according to you, regardless of whether Kocharyan occupies any post or not he participates in the management of the country.
– It is a fact that he is there and is spreading his activity. That’s why I am saying let him come and stand right in front of us instead of being in the shade. It would be absurd to think that he is not in politics. He appears in Iran, Paris, conducts negotiations. What do you think this is?
– Do you think the current internal and external situation can cause the conduct of by-elections by September of this year?
– I don’t connect my hopes with elections in this country. If normal election proceeded in this country then we would have a totally different situation both in the Armenian-Turkish relations and the NKR conflict resolution.
– In that case why does the ANC, the member of which I your party as well, stated about the necessity of the conduct of extraordinary elections?
– First of all believing or not is not a political category. The person, who had announced this in the name of the ANC, introduced the viewpoint of the political board and chapter of the ANC. And this was done based on pragmatic calculations, where the foreign policy issues were taken into account, relations and issues of the executive and judicial branches of power and internal political issues. By wrapping up all this we came to the conclusion that the processes going on in Armenia will cause the necessity of the conduct of by-elections in Armenia. Trust me if the next elections take place an anticipated in 2013 then we will have what we had in 2008. During by-elections the opposition will definitely come to power. I confidently say that the current opposition, which is represented by the Armenian National Congress, will change the incumbent government. The ANC demanded that the government hold by-election by September. The government should draw a conclusion from this. It is up to them to make the right decision and all that depends on the political situation as well. According to this political situation if they hold the by-elections then well; if not then better for us.