YEREVAN. – There were no positive shifts in the Karabakh peace process in 2019, because the OSCE Minsk Group and all those who are negotiating do not know the real reasons why this problem emerge, and what is the way to move forward, Lieutenant General Norat Ter-Grigoryants. told Tert.am.
“Negotiating for the sake of negotiating is stupid and pointless thing. So it can last for 100-150 years. The question has to be: why has this happened? The relations between Aliyev [president of Azerbaijani Ilham Aliyev] and Nikol Pashinyan [Armenian PM] are not bad, but we are not children, we understand that when the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia meet and not a single OSCE representative is present, these are not negotiations, I don’t trust such negotiations, ”he said.
According to the general, because of meetings in this format in Armenia they can assume that Pashinyan is going to hand over the territories, and in Azerbaijan they accuse Aliyev of concessions. Norat Ter-Grigoryants believes that negotiations with an aggressor such as Azerbaijan are not worth it.
“No one knows what they are speaking about, for example, I trust the Prime Minister, but in Azerbaijan, too, they trust Aliyev. What they are speaking about, what they say - no one knows. What kind of compromise we are talking about, which way we will go, or thanks to which mechanism there is a solution that will be acceptable to three parties. Without the OSCE, Pashinyan’s meetings with Aliyev could have dangerous consequences,” he added.
Shelling and provocation continue on the border and on the line of contact because of a document that was signed incorrectly in the 90s.
“Unfortunately, the president did not involve me in signing the document; I stayed at the command post. They wrote a “ceasefire agreement,” but what does “ceasefire” mean? We are warring countries, our side won, and suddenly we say ‘let's stop the fire.’ We needed a completely different document, it was necessary to talk about the surrender and independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, because Azerbaijan attacked Karabakh, intended to seize it, later on Zangezur, and planned to attack Yerevan from Nakhichevan,” the general noted.
Norat Ter-Grigoryants believes that there is a threat of escalation in Artsakh, since Aliyev periodically advocates hatred and prepares people for war.
“Aliyev will hide with his family in a bunker, and he’ll send people to die, people are worth nothing for him,” he added, recalling that in the event of war mountains will become a battle ground, and in case of correct moves the enemy will be destroyed, while oil pipeline will be damaged by drones.
“We saw what happened in Saudi Arabia. Let Azerbaijan think it over, they will not benefit from hostilities,” he said.
Norat Ter-Grigoryants noted that he, as one of the founders of the Armed Forces, is very pleased with the work of the defense ministry. He emphasized the importance of acquiring Su-30 SM fighter jets, as well as the fact that the Armed Forces of Armenia were equipped with Russia-produced ultramodern air defense and missile defense systems.
