Vice-Chairman of the RA National Assembly Samvel Nikoyan said that he estimates negatively the statement of Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan during the 16th congress of the Armenian National Movement that Armenia’s development is impossible without the Armenian-Turkish normalization and Karabakh conflict settlement.

The statement weakens the foundations of the Armenian state, Nikoyan told a press conference in Yerevan. “Turkey conditions the Armenian-Turkish border opening by NKR’s surrender to Azerbaijan. In other words, the current stance of Armenia’s first president on the Karabakh conflict does not differ from the one presented in his famous article - War or Peace,” said Nikoyan.

“The statement was a message for the first president’s allies that his stance on the Karabakh conflict remains unchanged and active actions should not be expected of him. In other words, Levon Ter-Petrosyan made it clear for his allies that he wants to retire,” concluded Nikoyan.