Not only the symbolic importance of Shusha was significant here, but also its strategic importance, he said, explaining why he signed the trilateral statement on November 9.
“After the fall of Shusha, Stepanakert (Khankendi—Ed.) would be under attack, the pressure on Martuni (Khojavand—Ed.) would increase, and most importantly, about 25,000 soldiers could be trapped,” he said.
According to Pashinyan, at the beginning of the negotiations Azerbaijan said that it did not intend to discuss anything pertaining to the status of Karabakh.
“At noon on October 1 I had a phone call with Putin, who confirmed that it was possible to try to stop the war on the basis of the Russian plan worked out years ago. And the conditions were as follows: 7 districts would be returned under the 5+2 formula, the issue of connection between Karabakh and Armenia through the Lachin corridor would be addressed, Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to Karabakh, and Karabakh’s status would remain undefined.
“We agreed with Putin that I would voice our position in the evening. In the afternoon I met with representatives of the extra-parliamentary opposition. Later, the Security Council was convened with the President, the Catholicos, and representatives of the parliamentary forces, where I said that I intended to call and say that I accepted Putin’s proposal. I said that I did not expect anybody present to share responsibility for this decision with me, I was simply informing them about the processes taking place. At the meeting with the extra-parliamentary forces, I said that I had invited them because I felt that by informing them, I was also informing the public, because I cannot tell people everything live on air.
“In the evening I called Putin and told him that I agreed to stop the war on these conditions. The Russian president said he would talk to Aliyev and call me back. At that point 2 districts were already practically under Azerbaijan’s control. Putin called the next day, the morning of October 20, and essentially delivered the following: “Azerbaijan agrees to stop the war if it gets all 7 districts. And there was a new demand: Azerbaijan wants guarantees that the Azerbaijani residents of Shusha, who according to Azerbaijan were 90 percent of the population of the city, would be returned to Shusha.
“For Russia, it was an acceptable solution because they said that the conflict resolution plan that was on the table years ago always included a clause about the return of refugees and displaced people to Karabakh.
“When this clause came up, I asked what Azerbaijan felt these guarantees should be. And it turned out that I had to declare that I agreed to the return of Azerbaijanis to Shusha and the rest of Karabakh. Putin suggested that this issue should remain linked to the status of Karabakh, that is, the return of Karabakh Azerbaijanis would be discussed in the context of a discussion about the status of Karabakh. I agreed, but Azerbaijan rejected this proposal, saying that it would not discuss anything pertaining to the status. Moreover, according to the proposal voiced at that time, not only the Azerbaijanis of Shusha, but also the Azerbaijanis of all the districts, were to have direct and unhindered access to Shusha,” the Armenian PM said.
He said that he had continued the negotiations with the mediation of the Russian president, and there were about 20 phone conversations between them on November 8-9, and about 60 phone conversations overall during the war.
He also said that he had signed the 2020 ceasefire statement on the morning of November 9, although the document itself had not been made public until the evening.
