“Lessons” program the guest Turkologist, candidate of historical sciences Varuzhan Geghamyan.

The main theses of the interview are below.

• It is hard to imagine a normal person who would normally consider Nikol Pashinyan’s statement, “Why did you die?” But when I heard that, the first thing I remembered was my students who died in Artsakh… I remembered the Yrablur boys. How can you tell the other person why you didn’t die? It’s not enough that people participated in the war, and now they say why you didn’t die. In other words, in his opinion, it is necessary to die in the war for the Motherland?

• If we go back to 2020, from some point the de facto government did not think about the front, but only about keeping its power. That’s why during the 44-day war they started to hide the reality, to invent the false slogan “We will win”… De facto government representatives really don’t like Artsakh, they don’t like the Armenian state, they think that it shouldn’t be resisting. In 2001, the de facto Prime Minister wrote in his newspaper that the Corridor is a good thing.

• This election campaign is not just an election campaign. It does not solve the problem of reproduction of the government, but for them, this is an opportunity for their pro-Turkish propaganda to be planted in people’s minds. 

• Vulgar soviology even shows that the Armenian people love Artsakh, but Pashinyan does not miss the opportunity to introduce anti-Artsakh theses to the widest possible masses of people. Otherwise, his campaign speech would be the destruction of Artsakh’s cultural heritage, the inadmissibility of the presence of prisoners, the occupation of Armenian territories.:

• These are the people who, when an Armenian driver caused an accident with human casualties in Russia, and they humiliated him in Russia by bringing him to the court in a robe, they poured all kinds of loot towards Russia, but these same people do not hide their secrets today when the entire cultural heritage of Artsakh is being destroyed.

• I do not rule out that Armenian place names can be changed in Google. The important thing is not that, but the fact that this government is going to hand over to Azerbaijan the sacred territory of extremely important strategic importance, Tigranashen, but it denies not that it will not hand over Tigranashen and other territories, but says that those names have not been changed recently… Using Turkish place names for the sacred territories of Armenia is typical Turkish propaganda. That’s what the Turks did when they first changed the names of the Armenian settlements, because it erased the memory:

• There is an order of Aliyev that it is not allowed to use Armenian place names in Azerbaijan, not only in the territories under the control of Azerbaijan, but also in the territories in Armenia. When there was an explosion in the “Surmalu” shopping center and there were victims, when the Turks expressed their condolences to Armenia, the name of the shopping center was not mentioned because it is located in Western Armenia. This is a disaster. Tomorrow they will demand that two names be mentioned on our maps: Sevan/Gyoča.

• On the morning of June 8, if the de facto regime was re-elected, a demand will be made to present Tigranashen, which the Turks call Kyarki, to Azerbaijan as soon as possible. Tigranashen is of critical importance for the territorial integrity of Armenia. Tigranashen is located on the border of Nakhichevan and Vayots Dzor and Ararat. If Tigranashen is surrendered, a Turkish wedge will be driven into the territory of Armenia. Tigranashen is also located on the border of Central Northern Armenia and Southern Armenia. If Tigranashen is handed over, it will not be a village, but a large military base. Our geography does not allow us to have a normal way around that part let’s build To go from Masis to Yeghegnadzor, from Yerevan to Goris or from Vanadzor to Kapan, you will have to deal with Azerbaijanis in one way or another. To go from one part of Armenia to another, we will pass through the Azeri corridor. If Kyarky is an enclave, as they say, and Azerbaijan wants to have a presence there, there is no other way than to give a corridor to that land. It’s not enough, we will give that enclave, one more small corridor to get there. By handing over Tigranashen, Armenia is creating a slow-acting bomb in its territory, which will have access to the entire Ararat Valley. To go from Yerevan to Iran, whether you like it or not, you will pass through the Azerbaijani territory. It turns out, instead of unblocking, we get full blocking:

• The one who gave the order to drag the parents of the fallen servicemen on the steps of Yerablur is capable of anything.

• In Azerbaijan, the idea that the territory of Armenia is not Armenian, but Turkish, arose in the 1910s, from the time when the decision was made to create the quasi-state of Azerbaijan. Its active phase was during the rule of Heydar Aliyev, who actively spoke about “Western Azerbaijan”, using false historiographical claims from the USSR years. He said: it should be remembered, raised about it. He was sure that it would not happen during his time, but one day, God willing, it would happen. When in 2003 Ilham Aliyev came to power, he put the politics of that issue before him. “Western Azerbaijan” was declared not only a memory, but also a strategic goal and international publicity. Until 2018 it didn’t work because Armenia successfully countered it. Ilham Aliyev, unlike his father, added another component: “the right of Azerbaijanis to return to their ancestral Turkic lands.” He delegitimized the Armenian state. 2018 after the change of power, Aliyev not only started talking about “Western Azerbaijan” on a daily basis, but also saw an opportunity to implement it on the ground. You will not find a place where Aliyev declares that he recognizes the territorial integrity of Armenia with a specific number. 2021 Azerbaijani armed forces are stationed in the territory of 300-400 sq/km from the sovereign territory of Armenia:

• If you allowed Azerbaijanis to come and live in Armenia, there will be no Armenian government in Armenia. If they bring 10,000 Azerbaijanis here, they will force them to have a quota in the Parliament, realization of educational and cultural rights, security formats, etc. Bringing even one Azerbaijani into this logic is a bomb at the foundation of Armenia’s statehood. Ramilsafarovs, Mubarizbrahimovs, those who beheaded Kyaram Sloyan, those who destroy Armenian monuments in Artsakh, those who torture Armenian prisoners in Baku will come here.

• These elections are more than an internal Armenian political event. These are very important choices. Only the fact that Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan states that they follow the Armenian elections with polls and express support for a specific force means that they attach great importance to our elections. They indirectly support the CP by targeting other forces. In Azerbaijan and Turkey, there is an authoritarian system of government, the mass media are under the control of the state. and if we look at the Turkish-Azerbaijani media, we see undisguised support to the de facto authorities of Armenia.

• Let us warn our followers, dear citizens, be very careful. There are a large number of Turkish-Azerbaijani Armenian-language websites and pages on social networks, which either promote Nikol Pashinyan, or promote people not to go to the elections, anyway, everything is decided.

• If you have noticed, Azerbaijani President Aliyev’s rhetoric regarding Armenia has softened. This is done specifically to ensure the re-election of this government.

• Turkey is geographically the West for us, and in a geopolitical sense. Turkey is a member of NATO. In the South Caucasus, if they say “the West”, they should understand only one country, Turkey, which is part of the West from a military-political point of view. This thinking is also present in France, Washington and elsewhere. Whatever happens, Europe will not condemn Azerbaijan for anything, because Europe expects from Turkey the weakening of the Russian-Iranian layer and the strengthening of the Turkish layer in our region. That’s why Armenia, unfortunately, geographically has no chance to go to the West. Its West is Turkey:

• I have very good news. Due to its geographical position, Armenia is located in such an area that it will always be interesting for the major geopolitical forces in the adjacent zones. In this constantly changing region, in order for you to be able to eat, sleep, and go to a concert, you must understand what kind of region you live in, analyze it and take preventive actions for it.

• Iran has strategically changed the nature of the game in the region. He has a much tougher stance on the South Caucasus, including Armenia. Iran’s main filter is security. Armenia’s border has become extremely important for Iran. In this regard, the Iranian position will become more rigid towards TRIPP, which is the same Zangezur Corridor for Iran. I do not rule out that this issue is part of the Iran-US negotiations. That agreement will show what architecture will be in the region. That’s why neither side wants to quickly close the topic:

• From the point of view of pragmatic Armenian interests, a strong Iran means a strong Armenia. If the Armenian people go to the polls on June 7, stand up for the country, and not for this fictitious Turkish peace, the entire political calculation of the region will change. If people do not go to the polls, we will be deprived of the last instrument of influence. Dear citizens, please go to the polls. Why should we leave our country, you go to the election for the Turks to leave our country?

Details in the video.

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