Tigran Kocharyan: The West will never be in favor of Armenians returning to Artsakh

Until November 2025, Russia will be in Artsakh, and the Armenian side has a chance to act, said Alpha News editor-in-chief and media expert Tigran Kocharyan.

“Artsakh has not yet completely come under Azerbaijan’s control. The Russian side is still partially there, and although it is unclear to us, they perform a certain function there. So, Russia will be there until November 2025, and the Armenian side has a chance to take some actions. It will be difficult to talk about the status now, but it is possible that they will try to organize a return under certain guarantees, and the local population will also raise the issue of a certain status. However, we must understand that if the people of Artsakh do not return until November 2025, then we can forget about Artsakh. At that time, we will not have the right to send in troops and liberate Artsakh. The whole world will consider it aggression and impose sanctions,” Kocharyan said.

He mentioned that the Artsakh government gives an interview to Le Figaro and makes some appeals to the international community without understanding what is happening in the region or who is the main player.

“We must understand that it was Russia that was constantly creating opportunities under various pretexts for Artsakh not to merge with Azerbaijan, at least legally. There was no point in the trilateral agreement where Artsakh should be recognized as a part of Azerbaijan. There was an agreement that the status of Artsakh would be left for discussion by future generations. We also remember that Tigran Petrosyan published a document in which, even after recognizing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan, the Russian side tried to ensure the safety of the people of Artsakh and guarantee their rights. Even now, Lavrov says that not everything is lost; we just need a will. Instead, we know what the government of the Republic of Armenia is doing, and the Artsakh government gives interviews and appeals to the international community without understanding what is happening in the region and who is the main player.

What is surprising is that Samvel Shahramanyan does not communicate with the Armenian media. Both Shahramanyan and others must understand that it was Russia that solved issues in the region, and the presence of Russia in Artsakh provides certain chances. Before giving an interview to Le Figaro, it would be good for Samvel Shahramanyan to recall when Artsakh was recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and if he recalled that it was done by Pashinyan in Prague, he would understand that there is no use hoping for France or Macron. What matters here is that the Artsakh elite should be reshaped, and there should be leaders who understand who is our friend and who is our enemy. The West will never be in favor of Armenians returning to Artsakh because the West has always emphasized that the presence of Armenians in Artsakh is Russia’s excuse to apply pressure on both republics. Now the whole West has happily gotten rid of that factor,” Tigran Kocharyan concluded.