All solutions will be bad; we must choose the least painful one.
This was stated by the first President of the Republic of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, during an interview with Petros Ghazaryan on the First Channel.
“We find ourselves in such a fateful situation that all previous contradictions, disputes, and mutual recriminations have reached a moment that demands dialogue and joint decision-making.
The Dashnaks and the Communists had waged war against each other; a moment came when they showed prudence and were able to find a solution that secured 101 years of peace for us; no foreign soldier had set foot in Armenia until last year. For 71 years Armenia had the opportunity to live in peace; we built a state, we became a nation that built its own state. If Soviet Armenia had not existed, the Third Republic would not have come into being.
Difficult solutions await us, painful solutions. Treaties must be signed with both Azerbaijan and Turkey. This will not please anyone’s palate. If a document is not signed, if peace is not concluded with the two neighbours, we cannot restore the reality of 70 years; we must build the country stone by stone, rebuild the country,” said the first president.
According to Ter-Petrosyan, only Nikol Pashinyan and the party leadership possess the information:
“It is Nikol and one or two others who know what Russia and Turkey are offering, and what advice the US is giving. I, Kocharyan, and Sargsyan do not have access to that information. The core meaning of my proposal is that the greater part of the opposition believes that if they can rid themselves of Nikol, then we can avoid painful solutions; this is naivety. Whoever comes will sign the same document, perhaps even a worse one. All solutions will be bad; we must choose the least painful one,” said the first president.
In Ter-Petrosyan’s view, Pashinyan is also afraid to sign. Whatever document he signs, they will call him a Turk, a traitor.
