Armenia needs to restore relations with Russia. The second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, said this in an interview with several media outlets.

Kocharyan recalled that the world is moving from a unipolar to a multipolar structure, and the transition period is expressed in instability, and from this perspective, threats, including for Armenia, are increasing.

“There are threats, and they are not neutralized. What is Turkey doing? It is obvious that Ottoman dreams are taking on a new manifestation in Turkey. Turkey is attempting to unite the Turkic-speaking countries under its leadership. They are even talking about single armed forces. Is this a threat or not [for Armenia]? Of course, it is a threat. In this context, should we be more serious or not? The threat from Turkey remains, their objective is obvious. We [i.e. Armenia] are a foreign body in the big political picture that Turkey is striving for. These are their national interests, we cannot blame them. But let's figure out who can restrain Turkey in this region. Name me a country,” the second president suggested.

The journalists joked, “Estonia.”

“There is Russia, which is the most powerful of the trio—Russia, Turkey, Iran—with its potential. It has been like this for the last few hundred years, and the geopolitical situation is changing little because geography does not change. We are in our place, Turkey—in its. Turkey’s ambitions are growing. The growth of these ambitions poses a certain threat to us. This is not about artificially aggravating relations with Turkey. Of course not. I have been president for ten years; find at least one careless statement [by me] against Turkey. And what statements was the first person of Armenia [i.e. incumbent PM Nikol Pashinyan] making against Turkey between 2018 and 20? Just remember. Bring at least one careless statement during the ten years of my presidency. This is a matter of accountability. Do you understand your job and do you have enough accountability to answer for your actions? We should not aggravate relations. Yes, we should have good relations with Turkey as a good neighbor, but not give in to blackmail, and for this we should have a partner that will curb Turkey's appetite for Armenia. If there is another country, name [it]. I am not against [it].

It is obvious that the US is now attempting to adopt a different position in international relations—moving from hegemony to another status. [US President Donald] Trump's statements in Riyadh are very interesting and somewhat reminiscent of [former US President] Barack Obama in the first years of his presidency—but then the US did the exact opposite. The US says that it is not a hegemon [country]. It has a competitor in the person of China, and is trying to focus on that region. It is certain that the US is not conducting an active policy in the South Caucasus region; that is obvious. We need to think about our security, and this is not the case when there are many opportunities.

Relations of Armenia with Russia must be restored: partnership, strategic, allied. And involve the Iranian factor. Iran is also a friendly country for us—not because it is a neighbor, but because we have common interests. Create a triangle from Armenian-Russian relations, involve the Iranian component,” Kocharyan noted.

When asked whether the Armenian authorities are trying to eliminate threats by refusing Mount Ararat, not recognizing the Armenian Genocide, etc., the second president responded: “But do you  think that if someone in Armenia talks about Western Armenia, it is a threat? No one considers it a threat. Think about the threat of ‘Western Azerbaijan.’ It seems that Pashinyan is rather considering real Armenia in the context of ‘Western Azerbaijan.’ Do you think anyone seriously thinks that we [i.e. Armenians] have our eyes on [Mount] Ararat? For us, it is a symbol. Have you heard statements from serious politicians that, ‘Now we will go and retake Ararat?’ This is not serious. This is a symbol, a part of our national identity. But this does not mean that we have had similar plans. No one has suffered from adventurism. And what he [i.e. Pashinyan] is doing is not for Turkey, but within us, he is destroying our symbols, a part of our identity, our ideas about ourselves.

The recognition of the [Armenian] Genocide was a component, a part of our security. A people who survived the Genocide have certain advantages in terms of a sharper perception of their security. How many years have passed, but Israel justifies its actions in Gaza with the Holocaust. It seems that there is no connection. But they say, ‘We have survived the Holocaust, we know what it is, and we will do everything so that there will be no more such threats.’ We have considered the issue of the Genocide, I specifically, as a certain component of strengthening security. Who needs it today? We see that similar attempts are being made all over the world—and unsuccessfully.”

To the remark that “the CSTO did not help, Russia did not express a position after the [Azerbaijani] occupation of the territory of Armenia,” Kocharyan reminded that he had repeatedly expressed himself on this matter, and repeated that all other CSTO members have better relations with Azerbaijan than with Armenia.

"This issue should not have been resolved through the CSTO, but through Armenian-Russian relations. Today we talked a lot about Estonia. Estonia has 1 million 200 thousand inhabitants, it is a NATO member. Isn't it clear that the backbone of NATO is the United States? If there are security issues, Estonia will not discuss them with Latvia or Finland. They should discuss [them] with the United States. The decisive voice is the United States. When you talk about the CSTO, you immediately associate it with the image of [Belarusian President Aleksandr] Lukashenko and say, ‘The CSTO did not help.’ You ruin your relations with the backbone country of the CSTO, and then say, ‘it did not help.’ And why should it have helped? You yourself [i.e. Pashinyan] say that you will not fight for this mountain. There was an incident on the border, you say, ‘The CSTO did not help.’ Procedures should have been initiated for help, and one has to wait a few months. If you yourself do not fight for your land, no one will fight for you. The reasons should be sought in this first of all.”

And when asked whether Russia was not to blame at all, the second president of Armenia responded: “So, could Russia have said that, ‘The [Armenian] authorities are doing stupid things, but since the Armenian people are our friends, we should not pay attention to stupid things?’ Did we expect that from Russia? Interstate relations do not work like that. They took the position of the offended, although Russia should have taken the position of the offended after the document signed in Prague because Russia’s mediating role was thus reduced to zero. We ‘achieved’ that, and then we say [to Russia], ‘Be a mediator between Karabakh and Azerbaijan.’ Russia did not have such a mandate. The OSCE mandate was different. All this needs to be explained, talked to the people."