Gerard Libardian says Armenia acted as if it had not lost the 44-day war

The President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev had a number of options after he won the war, and we acted as if we had not lost the war, Gerard Libardian, an Armenian historian, politician, former senior adviser to the former President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan on foreign policy issues, said during his speech at the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research - NAASR located in Massachusetts.

"In fact, the international community, beginning with the UN Security Council, including our friends - Russia, France, Iran, Greece, and Cyprus, always told us Karabakh will not be independent, we will not recognize independence and you are part of Azerbaijan. This is the message from the international community. But we didn't listen to these, we listened to ourselves," he noted.

"After the ceasefire for 25 years, we were told that Karabakh would not be independent and those the occupied territories - 7 districts would have to be returned. We didn't listen, we just said to the world this is what you have to do for us. We feel more comfortable as victims," the politician added.

"We had to stop this car that's rolling without a break, and every day making things worse for us.

"We don't have the luxury of saying, 'I would want this, I would want that.' I think that it is possible to sign an agreement with Azerbaijan. And let me propose the following. The President of Azerbaijan is saying that domestic internal issue is none of your business. The international community is agreeing more or less. Every time we set goals that are unrealistic, we tend to lose more.

"Aliyev had a number of options after he won the war, and we acted as if we had not lost the war. What he offered then was much better than what he is offering now. What he is offering now, I think, is manageable," Gerard Libardian said.





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