The price of ‘success’ was thousands of Armenian lives and the loss of Artsakh, says Vartan Oskanian

Vartan Oskanian, Former Foreign Minister of Armenia, has addressed the recent signing of a communiqué on establishing diplomatic relations between Armenia and Pakistan.

“Finally, Armenia and Pakistan have signed a protocol on establishing diplomatic relations, a step that is being presented as an ‘achievement’.

Pakistan refused to recognize Armenia for three decades because of Nagorno-Karabakh. And now we can supposedly have ‘friendly relations.’ What a wonderful diplomatic victory.

One cannot help but wonder: if the Armenian people were offered a choice between a de facto independent Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh or diplomatic ties with Islamabad, which would they choose?

Behind those smiling photos is the real price of this ‘success’: thousands of Armenian lives, the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the forced displacement of 150,000 people from their homeland. Never mind, at least we signed a protocol. This will definitely look great in the Foreign Ministry’s annual report,” Oskanian writes.