Ter-Petrosyan may talk sense into Pashinyan in Karabakh issue
WHigh inflation, unemployment, corruption and poverty rates, weak economy, low foreign investment and exports and many others problems seized the country over these years because of the wrong management of the former authorities.
Of course, the problems of Armenia are not only due to the domestic policy of the government: the foreign policy also plays an important role here. The problems of Armenia in relations with neighbors greatly affect the social and economic situation in the country. Because of these problems, Armenia misses the opportunity of participation in different regional projects, and the country has long turned into the black sheep of the region.
The main of these obstacles, which prevents the well-being of the Armenian population, is obviously the long-lasting Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and illegal occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories. Following the occupation, Azerbaijan and Turkey closed borders with Armenia, and as a result, today the aggressor country can neither develop nor implement economic initiatives properly.
However, it seems that the new authorities of Armenia headed by Nikol Pashinyan continue the former government’s unconstructive policy on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since the new prime minister’s recent absurd statements in this regard are not much different from those of former presidents Kocharyan and Sargysan.
Perhaps the recent meeting of Pashinyan with Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia and the leader of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party, could somehow change the former’s position on the conflict, since Ter-Petrosyan has a more adequate position on the solution of the issue and Armenia’s problems in general.
The official statement notes that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was among the topics discussed at the meeting, along with the ways to overcome the challenges facing Armenia and issues related to the foreign policy.
It is noteworthy that Ter-Petrosyan’s point of view on the resolution of the conflict differs from the position of the majority of Armenia’s former and current authorities. Back in December 2016, he called for peace in his speech at an ANC meeting and stressed that delaying the resolution of the conflict will further weaken Armenia.
“Not having learned lessons from the bitter experience of the past years, the regime decided to continue the notorious policy of eternal confrontation with Azerbaijan and Turkey, which in this short period of time has already led to big economic, social, demographic and moral and psychological destruction in Armenia and Karabakh,” Ter-Petrosyan mentioned two years ago. He also noted that the main guaranty for security, economic development and improvement of the demographic situation of Armenia is the settlement of the NagornoKarabakh conflict and normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.
This is a real way out of the difficult situation that seized Armenia since the occupation of the Azerbaijani lands. In contrast, the bravados of the new Armenian authorities and breaches of the ceasefire are putting the region at risk of new hostilities and further exacerbate the situation of Armenia. Therefore, Pashinyan should rather heed the words of TerPetrosyan, who calls for an early settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in order to restore the socioeconomic situation in Armenia.