Kocharyan says 2019 talks could have ended with modified Madrid Principles deal

Second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said that if Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) peace talks had continued in 2019, they could have concluded with the adoption of a modified version of the Madrid Principles.

In an interview with Armenia’s 5th Channel aired on Sunday, Kocharyan criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for aligning his shifting political views with the failures of his government. Kocharyan recalled Pashinyan’s past remark that “Artsakh was a burden for Armenia”, arguing that this meant Armenia had traded thousands of lives and sovereignty for a false sense of independence.

“He basically said that if we had kept Artsakh and avoided 5,000 deaths and more than 11,000 wounded, we would have remained a miserable country that lost its sovereignty – a foolish people at peace with its history,” Kocharyan said.

The ex-president attributed the outbreak of the 2020 war to several factors, including Armenia’s withdrawal from peace talks, the discrediting of the Armenian army, the deterioration of ties with allies and the July 2020 clashes in Tavush Province.

Asked what alternative could have emerged if Armenia had not left the talks in 2019, Kocharyan said: “The negotiation process would have ended with the adoption of a modified version of the Madrid Principles. If Nikol Pashinyan had entered the process in 2019, the proposal was good and the agreement could have been signed.”