Robert Kocharian, the former president of Armenia, was the candidate for prime minister from the "Hayastan" bloc that he leads. In his speech at the bloc's event on March 16, Kocharian promised to create 45,000 new jobs annually in Armenia. In his appeal to supporters, Kocharian emphasized that security will remain one of Armenia's main priorities in the coming years. He stated that achieving this requires a combat-ready army, a strong leader, and a reliable ally for the country. He also said that he prioritizes peace with Azerbaijan, but that clear security guarantees are needed for this. According to him, Armenia's foreign policy should be predictable, understandable, and reject the idea of exploiting disagreements among great powers.
The meaning of Robert Kocharian's statements is clear. By "reliable ally," he meant Russia. In other words, he wanted to say that if victorious, Armenia will continue to play the role of Russia's vassal in the South Caucasus as before. I did not come across thoughts about Karabakh in Kocharian's speech on Armenian websites. On the contrary, he said that if he becomes prime minister, he will prioritize peace with Azerbaijan. The cunning Kocharian knows that if he voices illogical ideas like "the return of Karabakh" in pre-election speeches, he will not gain votes. The majority of Armenians are not unaware that theses related to Karabakh could lead to a new war with Azerbaijan. That is why Kocharian does not want to scare voters. However, Armenian voters should also know that if Kocharian is brought back to power again, this will be a blow to peacebuilding, including fragile stability in the region. This means a message should be sent from Baku to Armenians now: straying from the current peacebuilding will cause tension in the region and losses for Armenia.
Elkhan Shahinoglu,
political analyst