Yes, Nikol was right: I couldn't explain, but he managed to deceive our people. Serzh Sargsyan

Serzh Sargsyan’s statement on the eighth anniversary of his resignation

“Dear people,

I am addressing you not as a politician, but as an Armenian, as a person whose life and destiny are inseparable from this land and water, from this country. Our party has already announced its decision not to participate in the upcoming elections. This is not just a political position, but a united, considered and reasoned decision - a historic decision.

In the spring of 2018, when my team and I left, we did so by fulfilling your will. Eight years ago, in my resignation statement, I wrote a sentence that, due to the editing of the text by one of the beneficiaries and the subsequent manipulation of my “extreme” friends, they tried to turn into a stigma for me.

Throughout my life, I have had right and wrong decisions. My most correct and difficult decision was to “break my own promise” and run for the post of Prime Minister in 2018.

Unfortunately, it was also my biggest mistake, because I failed to explain to our people that the goal of my nomination was not to hold on to power at all, but to ensure the security of Karabakh and Armenia. Yes, Nikol was right - he was ready to go all the way and had no red lines, I should not have been nominated. And I was wrong, thinking that we would be able to explain to our people that my departure in a difficult negotiation situation would lead to a disaster. It was obvious to me that changing the negotiator at that stage of the negotiations, resetting the history of the negotiations, would have tragic consequences. Something that happened. Not because I was the best negotiator, but because I knew all the parties participating in the negotiations deeply, had institutional memory and knew the value of Karabakh and the victory as a member of the team that built that victory and then kept it.

Yes, Nikol was right - I was unable to explain, and he was able to deceive our people.

2018 As a result of my nomination for prime minister, I lost a lot, from not being understood to being rejected by my people as a result, but from the distance of years, I can say for sure that I would go through that purgatory again, because I was sure that this way we would prevent any disaster.

I was unable to explain to the people, because the people did not want to listen. I was “wrong” while being right.

In 2018, I was nominated to guarantee the security of Armenia and Artsakh, so that there would be no bloodshed on the borders, and then I resigned so as not to allow bloodshed within the borders. And today, eight years after my resignation, a large part of the people believe that Nikol’s government exists as long as the “former” are at the forefront of the political struggle against him.

I also submit to this demand of the people. If my and the Republican Party’s participation contributes even by one percent to the reproduction of today’s administration, we are taking a step back in order to give people the opportunity to express their will soberly, without emotions, and to other opposition forces to make their promise of a change of power through elections a reality without hindrance.

I began my path with the formation of the Artsakh Self-Defense Forces and have considered it the greatest honor of my life to participate in building the victory of our people and to preserve that victory. During its rule, the Republican Party has done everything for the sake of a secure Armenia and Armenian Artsakh, to preserve and cherish with dignity the greatest victory of the Armenian people in the last hundred years. Of course, there have been mistakes and disappointments, but, in my deep conviction, those mistakes are forgivable and recoverable, and the evidence of this is that today we go out among our people with an open face and a clear conscience.

It is no secret that the Republican Party did not want to participate in the 2021 elections, but we were forced to take that step. Unlike the undoubted victory promoted by the opposition, sociology suggested something else. We participated in those elections to try to prevent the final betrayal and surrender of Artsakh. It was obvious that the deceiver who signed the capitulation with a lie “we will win” for 44 days, who promised the de-occupation of Artsakh during the 2021 campaign, was actually going to surrender Artsakh behind the backs of the people and leave the Artsakh Armenians alone against the enemy, as a result opening the gates of Armenia to the enemy.

Months ago, the Republican Party proposed an impeachment bill as the only realistic way to get rid of these authorities. It was clear to us that they and their foreign sponsors had already begun to rig the elections, imprisoning dissidents, distributing electoral bribes from the budget at the expense of doubling the state debt, and turning a blind eye to the increasing illegalities.

In these conditions, fair and competitive elections, in our opinion, were impossible. However, unfortunately, our parliamentary colleagues chose a different path, waiting for the elections. I wish them success in justifying this decision.

I am convinced that in this situation, a large unity is necessary to ensure the victory of the opposition in order to prevent the dispersion of votes, which will serve the interests of the current regime. The Republican Party will continue to maintain its weighty role as an extra-parliamentary force for the sake of historical memory, dignity, and the Armenian dream.

The group that has uprooted Armenia, brought it to its knees, buried it in debt, and flooded it with lies must leave. The alternative is terrible - a horror for our country, our people, and the next generation. It's terrible for them, they just don't realize it yet. We need to wake up before it's too late.

Decent peace, logic, and harmony for our country and people."