The President of Armenia, Vahagn Khachatryan, stated that the 1991 independence referendum did not secure the essence of independence but rather devalued it over the years, disillusioning and demoralizing many, distancing them from the desire to have an independent, sovereign state.
He noted that as a result of the referendum, Armenia became a "clan-based, corrupt state," whose existence was conditioned solely by a "third force." Khachatryan emphasized that the situation changed after the Velvet Revolution in 2018 when the authorities began to fight against corruption and patronage.
He also addressed the Artsakh issue, questioning why previous authorities did not formalize the unification of the Republic of Artsakh with Armenia, instead negotiating with Azerbaijan over some "status" for over a quarter of a century.
Khachatryan pointed out that the Prague Summit in 2022 marked the beginning of a new approach that allowed Armenia to emerge as a fully sovereign, independent, predictable country.
