On the previous day, the defendant, Araik Harutyunyan, provided an open testimony.
Harutyunyan stated: “In June 2020, I asked Pashinyan to inform us about the negotiation process. That same month, we held a joint Security Council meeting in Yerevan. During the meeting, the heads of Armenia’s defense structures briefed us on the state of the army. Conducting a war requires certain resources, and it became clear that Armenia did not have such capabilities. I said that the outcome of the war would depend on our resources, as every war is a war of resources. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan’s potential exceeded Armenia’s by multiple times in all aspects.”
Harutyunyan admitted that the decisions to strike deep into Azerbaijani territory were made in Armenia: “These operations were overseen by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Army, Onik Gasparyan. This was not a secret process—it was happening in front of everyone.
At the end of the summer, Nikol Pashinyan arrived in Karabakh. I accompanied him to the ‘military formations.’ He assessed the situation. I saw and heard what was happening within the ‘armed forces.’ However, I never received any information from the ‘Karabakh Defense Committee.’ I was never informed about the situation. I had no authority over the ‘army’ whatsoever.
On September 27, as you know, a large-scale war began. According to the ‘laws of Karabakh,’ we were required to declare a state of war, and we did. I understood what the outcome would be. From the very first days, I discussed with Pashinyan when the war would be halted.
On October 2, I made a public statement that I had no authority over the ‘army’ and that it would be better if I stood among the soldiers myself. On that same day, a decision was made to strike military targets deep within Azerbaijani territory—using either missile or artillery systems.
From Levon Mnatsakanyan’s recent testimony, I understood that the investigation is aware of the authority he held and what he could do. I did not know who had what authority or what weapons would be or were being used. When I asked Onik Gasparyan whether these decisions were justified, he responded that yes, our primary targets were Azerbaijan’s airports, which we were supposed to destroy.
It was also discussed that the strikes should be made to appear as if they were coming from Karabakh.”
