If Pashinyan could not be the supreme commander during martial law,

In recent days, 2020 was put on the agenda for discussion. During the days of the 44-day war, the share of responsibility of the Defense Army of Artsakh and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia regarding the breach of the defense line in important areas, Azerbaijani penetrations in tactical depth and the loss of Shushi.

In particular, the basis for this was the adoption of the 2025 plan of the RA government in the National Assembly on April 17. During the performance discussion, the application statement of the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia, the head of the Hayastan faction Seyran Ohanyan, that during the 44-day war, the Artsakh Defense Army had a defense zone of 283 km, of which they kept 265 km for one month, until October 27, 2020.

“With your zone of responsibility, Azerbaijan has bypassed and reached the borders of Shushi, Berdzor, Berdadzor and the Republic of Armenia – the borders of Goris, Kapan, Meghri. Now you say that the generals escaped, they escaped under your leadership, go and make a decision,” said Ohanyan, addressing Nikol Pashinyan.

Later 24TV–in a conversation with , he noted that the first line of responsibility for the penetration into the Artsakh defense zone is the Artsakh Defense Army, but if the enemy concentrates its main efforts in the direction of the breakthrough zone and penetrates into the defense zone at tactical depth, then the RA armed forces join the problem with the appropriate military unit and other forces. In other words, according to Seyran Ohanyan, in this case the decisions are taken by the RA authorities, and Pashinyan is the main person responsible.

«On the right side of the Artsakh defense zone, there is a large area, about 100 km along the Araxi river, to the borders of the Republic of Armenia. It is in that direction that Azerbaijan was able to develop its attack and reach the borders of the Republic of Armenia. And it was very difficult for PB to turn its right wing in that area, so to speak, so that it could fully implement its defense. If the enemy had been stopped there in time with tactical depth, then the capture of Hadrut and Shushi would not have happened.” he continued.

It should be noted that this idea is the most comprehensive in S. Ohanyan said still in 2023 168.amwith in the interview. 

“The Defense Forces had a 283 km defensive zone, the enemy attacked in 2 places in the southern direction: Hadrut, Jabrail, and in the northern direction: Martakert. In the southern direction, the enemy managed to break through the defensive line. With that breakthrough, the enemy was able to reach 52 km to Shushi, and 70-100 km to reach parts of Meghri, Kapan, Goris, Sev Lake. …The opponent was able to break through and move forward in the place in which it was the duty of the RA leader to confirm the decision. We must see the Shushi operation in the context of the entire defensive operation and the consistent or gradual advance of the enemy throughout that breakthrough zone. Shushi’s operation should not be seen separately, they should have faced at least the forest areas of Hadrut in the collision zone, where there were quite good conditions to stop the enemy,” explained the former Minister of Defense.

It is another matter that S. In recent days, Ohanyan has avoided answering our questions about military or war operations, including the defense of Shushi.

Hadrut, going to Shush was not in the area of ​​responsibility of the First Army Corps of the RA Armed Forces

We tried to listen Former First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Tiran Khachatryan professional opinion, who was in charge of the southern route, and in the context of the conversation these days, misconceptions could arise.

“Hadrut, Shushi, who has a little understanding, should understand that this has nothing to do with my area of ​​responsibility, it has nothing to do with it at all, it is outside that area. The direction they went from Hadrut to Shushi has nothing to do with the southern group at all. Are you saying that Seyran Ohanyan gives the name of the Araks bank, that “along the Araks river about 100 km to the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan was able to develop its attack and reach the borders of Armenia in that direction”, S. Ohanyan says something else, he says that the responsibility for organizing defense in strategic depth lies with N. It is on Pashinyan.

And the Araks coast, which he says, was the defense zone of the 9th defense region of Artsakh, which operated as part of the Artsakh Armed Forces until the end. As for the 1st Army Corps of the RA Armed Forces, what task did it receive, as far as the forces were satisfied, it fulfilled them. And the breakthrough, then the promotion, has nothing to do with the 1st MC of the RA Armed Forces. Hadrut, going to Shush was neither under the responsibility of the First Army Corps nor anyone else. It was the area of ​​responsibility of the Artsakh Defense Forces, there are problems related to the Defense Forces command. Something else that has not been done to counter their forces, to protect them… or to challenge them properly organizationally.

If we go into more detail. there was a defense base, a position, a stronghold, a district, then a zone of responsibility of the Defense Ministry, and after all that, there is Shushi deeper,” explained the general, repeating that S. Ohanyan said that the main responsible is the head of the country, the supreme commander, he must understand what decision he is under, so to speak, “signing”.

On the contrary, N. Pashinyan has stated on various occasions that he is not a specialist in military affairs and is not obliged to understand narrow issues, on the other hand, 168.amthe wrote that during the 44-day war, martial law was declared in RA, during which the prime minister cannot be the supreme commander, that is, the head of the General Staff is subordinate to the Minister of Defense, Tiran Khachatryan responded.

“If he is not a specialist, why is he in charge? As for the second part of the question, then ask why they were reporting everything to him and he was making the decision himself.”

Armenia may have demanded something, but Azerbaijan said far play

Taking into account that at some point the second stage of demarcation and demarcation will take place in the Tavush region, and according to politicians and experts, the handing over of the enclave villages will destroy not only the internal communications of the Tavush region, but will also put the highway through Tavush to Bagratashen, the Armenian-Georgian border, and the gas pipeline entering the RA from Georgia under attack, we, the first deputy chief of the RA Armed Forces in the conversation with, we could not ignore the developments in the Tavush area.

After all, the fact that in 2020 The clause about Tavush was removed from the tripartite statement of November 9-10 contributed also Tiran Khachatryan.

In this context, we have not bypassed 2019 in the Tavush sector. Thanks to the 3rd Army Corps of the RA Armed Forces, the positional improvements we recorded when the authorities were recording որ՝ “Under the full control of the Armenian forces are strategically important for our country: the gas pipeline from Georgia to Armenia and the Armenia-Georgia highway, as well as the roads leading to several rural settlements of Azerbaijan.”

After this in 2020 In July, military operations took place, during which Armenia also secured positional improvements. 2024 168.amin a conversation with former RA Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said. “Tavush 2020 the July battles and the preceding 2019 The February operations were carried out based on the strategic logic of strengthening RA’s positions.”

But years after the July battles, N. Pashinyan destroyed the successes of the July battles through the pilot demarcation and demarcation process.

Tiran Khachatryan confirms: “at that time, we performed tasks of positional improvement”.

“As for the demarcation and demarcation process, today we have not solved any issue in our favor, we have fulfilled the demands put forward by the enemy. We haven’t solved any issues for ourselves. Can you mention somewhere that something has been done for historical justice, restoration of reality, or, why not, to fix the situation in our favor in the order fixed for the present? Nothing like this has happened. And to think that some issue will be resolved for us in the future will not be such a thing. There is no such thing.

What Azerbaijan said and wanted, it got. Even if something was presented by us, so to speak, they gave it to the mouth and threw it in the trash, if it was. In any case, any questions for us (and they are not few, still in terms of the restoration of the borders of the Soviet period) have not been asked. There are useful things in the existing maps that were Armenian and are not ours now. I don’t know if they may have requested them, but they said play away. The situation shows that,” said the general.

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