Former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has stated that the 2001 Key West negotiations included a concrete option for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) with Armenia – and that Yerevan was “very close” to achieving it.
Speaking to supporters, Kocharyan responded to a question about why he never formally annexed Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) during his presidency.
According to him, the unification plan was on the table:
“At Key West, the option of Artsakh joining Armenia was discussed. We were very close to that scenario. But we did not announce this unilaterally, because such an announcement would have meant one thing: the collapse of the negotiating process and a casus belli. I have no doubt that we would have ultimately reached a result favorable to us.”
Kocharyan said the concept discussed with mediators was essentially:
“two states – one army; two states – one security system,”
with the political status to be resolved over time.
Kocharyan Blames Pashinyan for “Destroying” Negotiations
The former president sharply criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s 2018 statement “Artsakh is Armenia, period,” calling it an act of “irresponsibility, ignorance, and stupidity” that, in his view, gave Azerbaijan a pretext for war.
“Pashinyan unilaterally declared that Artsakh is Armenia. As a result, he created a situation that gave a certain legitimacy to Azerbaijan’s aggression.”
Kocharyan argued that previous governments avoided such declarations precisely to prevent escalation during periods of unstable military balance.
He also accused Pashinyan of breaking with the Minsk Group co-chairs – the United States, Russia, and France – by insisting that talks be transferred to Stepanakert:
“He essentially said: go and negotiate with Karabakh. Did we lack intelligence? No. But you don’t make such a move when the military balance is already fragile. It was a provocation that led to catastrophic consequences.”
“We Relied on Self-Determination – That Was Our Strength”
Kocharyan defended his approach to negotiations, saying that recognizing Karabakh as part of Armenia would have shifted the conflict into the field of territorial integrity – weakening Armenia’s legal position.
He claimed that the negotiation process had effectively provided the region with de-facto recognition:
“For many years, we had a practically independent Karabakh – not yet recognized internationally, but effectively recognized as a self-determined people, a self-determined state in the process of recognition.”
He described the Madrid Principles as a framework that acknowledged this trajectory, with a referendum envisioned as the final mechanism for confirming Artsakh’s status – contingent on security arrangements and the “security belt” around Karabakh.
Direct Attack on Pashinyan: “International Rambo Who Became Gikor”
Kocharyan accused Pashinyan of reckless adventurism, blaming him for the outcomes of the 2020 war:
“He imagined himself an international Rambo. They hit him on the head, and he turned into Gikor. And the people ended up in a terrible situation.”
“Because of his adventurism – 5,000 dead, more than 11,000 wounded. If the government claims the number is smaller, then publish the list: name, surname, village, city.”
