In his latest interview, Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Popov said when there was a shift of power in Armenia in 2018, there was a document on the table according to which the Armenian side returns the five territories, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) isn’t recognized yet, but Artsakh, Lachin and Kelbajar remain the way they are, all roads are opened, and years later, the status of Artsakh will be determined through a vote or referendum, and then there would be a discussion on Lachin and Kelbajar. This is what unified candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement of Armenia Vazgen Manukyan said during a meeting with citizens of Gyumri today, adding that during the war Armenia thought it would give those territories in exchange of recognition of Artsakh’s independence.

“This is also a rather normal option, but Armenia wanted the maximum. If Ailyev recognized Artsakh’s independence, he would lose power. A normal leader had to address the people and state the options, but Pashinyan led the whole process of negotiations to failure. First he said Artsakh has to decide on its own, and then he said ‘Artsakh is Armenia, period’, and Baku immediately took advantage of this,” Manukyan said.

According to Manukyan, the authorities have been discrediting the army and instituting criminal cases against this or that army general since they came to power two-and-a-half years ago. Manukyan also said Nikol Pashinyan is stupid, doesn’t have a state mindset and is a traitor. He emphasized that if the war was stopped on time, there wouldn’t be several thousands of victims and a large part of Armenian territories wouldn’t be transferred to the enemy.

“They say there are people in Armenia who support Nikol. I want to understand if they are using their brains. Nikol Pashinyan hasn’t made any right decision and has turned Armenia into a secondary state,” he said.