Interview with Russian political analyst Stanislav Tarasov

168.am: Mr. Tarasov, you have been following the events taking place in Armenia in regard to reforms in the judiciary over the past couple of days. How would you assess the events?

Stanislav Tarasov: Every revolution has its genre and its episodes — external enemy, conspiracies, etc. In other words, this is the working style of a government that has a goal to maintain its influence, not solve the problems in society. Nikol Pashinyan has been in power for a year. The judiciary is one of the major branches of government, and the reforms in this sector had to be the first reforms.

The Prime Minister didn’t undertake these reforms, the old judiciary continued to function, and there were many cases, including the case of Khachaturov and the topic of Sargsyan’s relatives…there were also others who were charged under this or that case, in other words, the courts were functioning, and Pashinyan had no problems. As soon as the court released Kocharyan, Pashinyan immediately announced about the crisis in the judiciary. This means that even though there is a crisis, it is based on outlooks. Pashinyan wanted courts to be liberal, but be subject to his will.

If he was such a consistent liberal democrat, and if the court rendered a decision, and he hadn’t managed to implement reforms before that and now highlights the fact that it is necessary to implement reforms, he can implement those reforms. Who is holding him back — Moscow or Washington? This means he is late, and so the crisis of the judiciary is a crisis of governance. This is a very dangerous tendency since it can lead to chaos within the whole system of governance.

I would also like to talk about Kocharyan. In regard to this, Moscow supports the law, not Kocharyan personally. Presidents benefit from immunity, but the law was violated in Kocharyan’s case. Pashinyan is carrying out vendetta when he had to implement reforms. A year has passed, and the government has to report on what it has done over the past year.

168.am: The government presented 100 changes made a year after the revolution in Armenia.

Stanislav Tarasov: Yes, but the only changes were the opening of a sewing machine factory or other things…That is not a report. There is a need for serious reforms, but the government is intimidating investors through destabilization of domestic politics.

168.am: Mr. Tarasov, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia talked about the likelihood of conspiracy in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He talked about corrupt figures in the system in Armenia and their ties with Artsakh, stating that Artsakh is carrying out false propaganda against the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the Prime Minister and that, based on his analysis, he sees a conspiratorial goal to provoke a conspiratorial war, even hand over some territories and place the responsibility for what happened on the Government of the Republic of Armenia. Is this possible in general?

Stanislav Tarasov: Listen, Armenians in Karabakh and Armenia are defending the territory that they want to keep under their control. On the one hand, when Pashinyan issued an order and dismissed the Minister of Defense of Karabakh from office, that was interference with the domestic affairs of Karabakh. On the other hand, Pashinyan states that Karabakh is a separate territory.

These are double and triple standards that no longer work in that society. This is a crisis of publicism and a crisis of genre, not politics. Pashinyan has found himself in a deadlock, but he needs to get out of that because he does not have the support that he used to have. People paid heed to his call and came out to the streets, but there were not as many people as there were in the spring of last year.

Moreover, many authorities, including the President, call on Pashinyan to observe the letter of the law. Pashinyan is finding himself in isolation little by little. Who is organizing a conspiracy in Karabakh? Is it Robert Kocharyan? His release was 100% legitimate. He isn’t escaping, right? He will simply be at home and will participate in the trials. His preventive measure has simply been changed.

So, Pashinyan is afraid of Kocharyan and his influence. Although Kocharyan has no influence based on surveys, Pashinyan is afraid, and this means that the government is in a political crisis and in a crisis of governance based on all indicators. Or is Bako Sahakyan organizing a conspiracy? As far as I know, Pashinyan and Sahakyan met in the morning, and Sahakyan is trying to come to terms with the Armenian authorities. Bako Sahakyan teamed up with Arkadi Ghukasyan as a guarantor because Kocharyan was the first president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, and if Kocharyan is referred to as a criminal, this is destroying the entire history of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.

168.am: Although the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia states that there are tendencies for the cause of conflicts between the two peoples, this charge against Kocharyan is putting intensification of those conflicts at a higher risk. What can these allegations lead to?

Stanislav Tarasov: One gets the impression that Karabakh has stopped keeping silent. Karabakh has noticed a double game, and first and foremost, in the direction of Karabakh. Let’s observe all the statements that Pashinyan has made about Karabakh recently, and we will see that there is no logic. It’s not that he’s right or wrong. It’s just that there is no logic. We can’t say that the people of Karabakh will provoke a war and hand over territories because they will never allow it. If Karabakh is not your territory, why are you reprimanding the President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic? If the territory is viewed as an Armenian territory, then there has to be a different working style.

168.am: After this statement, there is an opinion that Armenia might take that path, laying the blame on Artsakh. What do you have to say about this?

Stanislav Tarasov: This can be justified because the policy on Karabakh is very inconsistent. I have said several times that, as I look at several developments, I get the impression that there is a plan or project. Karabakh notices this and has a feeling that something is going on behind its back.

Let us recall how Azerbaijan acted in the hottest phase of the interior political developments in Armenia — Azerbaijan supported Pashinyan and there was an agreement in Dushanbe. Now, Azerbaijan views that the time for Pashinyan to take a breath is over and is setting forth specific conditions. One gets the impression that certain forces are gearing Pashinyan and that he is trying to place a share of the responsibility on Karabakh. There is a differentiation between Armenians of Armenia and Armenians of Karabakh. This is bad.