Armenia should never have territorial claims and does not have any claims against its neighbors, National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan stated during a parliamentary briefing, responding to remarks by former President Robert Kocharyan suggesting that if an opportunity arises in a tense regional environment, it should be used.

He added that relations in the region must be built in such a way that no party would even think about attacking another, according to 1lurer.am .

Responding to a journalist’s question on whether such an opportunity should be used if it arises, Simonyan said unequivocally no—never, neither in the case of Turkey nor Azerbaijan.

“That is a very bad, unacceptable statement—shameful, in fact—and for such rhetoric, he will not be held accountable here tomorrow or the day after. Will his children go and fight? Or what—does he want to keep us dependent for centuries on Russia, France, or someone else?

No, we must build relations in the region so that no one even considers attacking another. Eternal hostility? What kind of diplomacy is that? Tell me, during his ten years in power, did Armenia develop and strengthen its 29,743 square kilometers, or did he enrich himself? Did Armenia rebuild and grow stronger, or did it hand over assets for debt and give away its independence to another country? And now again… Did he really say such a thing? I can’t believe it. It’s disgraceful and unacceptable,” Simonyan said, adding that such rhetoric is dangerous for Armenia.

Former President Robert Kocharyan previously stated that if they had been in power in 2020, the war would not have happened, and if they had won the 2021 elections, Karabakh would not have been depopulated. At the same time, he noted that they have “no revanchist intentions.” “Such claims are being spread because there’s nothing else to promote,” he said.