Robert Kocharyan criticizes handling of 2020 trilateral agreement

Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has argued that the ninth clause of the November 9, 2020 trilateral agreement between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia is essentially identical to the corresponding point in the recent Washington agreement regarding transport links, with the key difference being the subsequent loss of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the Lachin Corridor.

In an interview with the 5th Channel aired late on Sunday, Kocharyan said that although the 2020 document formalized Armenia’s defeat in the war, it also offered a chance to preserve Nagorno-Karabakh. “No opposition figure ever said the agreement should be annulled,” he said. “Everyone understood it was problematic, but it provided an opportunity to keep Artsakh.”

Kocharyan argued that Armenia should have done everything possible to implement the terms of the 2020 agreement. He urged comparisons between Clause 9 of the ceasefire statement and the Washington declaration, insisting their contents are effectively identical except for the context surrounding the Lachin Corridor.

“The clause was included at Azerbaijan’s insistence to mirror the Lachin Corridor,” he noted.

Kocharyan accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of refusing to implement the clause, which ultimately led to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the loss of Artsakh. “Now the same approach is being presented as a historic achievement in Washington,” he added.