The Chief of General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, Colonel-General Onik Gasparan issued a message, which reads.
"Dear compatriots, comrades-in-arms,
The Armenian Armed Forces honorably accepted the war unleashed by Azerbaijan, its ally Turkey and mercenary terrorists on September 27, 2020 and did everything possible and impossible from the very first seconds of the war. The Armenian soldier fought selflessly, fought to the death.
Some politicians accuse the leadership of the armed forces of presenting an unrealistic analysis to the head of state on the possible nature of the enemy's actions and the capabilities of their armed forces. That does not correspond to reality!
I have been appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces On June 8, 2020, and already on June 12, I presented to the RA Prime Minister, and a few days later to the Security Council, the analysis of the military-political situation in the region and the capabilities of our armed forces.
Based on the analysis, I have made proposals to increase the level of military security in the country. In particular, I mentioned that:
1. Our opponent is no longer only Azerbaijan, but also Turkey. Consequently, Armenia cannot effectively counter the combined military potential of these states, and it is necessary to direct the all political and diplomatic potential to avoid or at least postpone the war.
2. The proposal was accepted by the Security Council and the Prime Minister, but the question was asked: "If we can not avoid war, what should we do?" I replied that in the war that is imposed on us, we should try to inflict heavy losses on the enemy as soon as possible and force it to abandon further actions. I mentioned that a long war should be avoided, given our resources. Numerous proposals were discussed and approved, the implementation of which should have significantly increased our combat potential. This referred to both the acquisition of armaments and military equipment and the comprehensive provision of hostilities.
3. At that time, the issue of forming volunteer military units with a staff of one hundred thousand was also raised.
In any case, we could not avoid the war, and on September 27, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive across the entire Artsakh front. The Defense Army successfully repulsed all the attacks, inflicting heavy losses, destroying a large number of manpower and military equipment. Unfortunately, our troops also suffered heavy losses.
On the fourth day of the war, during the Security Council meeting, I presented our losses and the assessment of the situation in the armed forces, noting that in two or three days it is necessary to take measures to stop the war, otherwise our resources will be exhausted in a short time. and with each passing day we will have more unfavorable conditions for the negotiation process.
I have made similar assessments many times during my round-the-clock work with the Prime Minister, as well as at the meetings of the Security Council.
All attempts and proposals to stop the war at a certain stage were rejected by Turkey and Azerbaijan, and we were forced to continue hostilities, trying to inflict heavy losses on the enemy and force him to sit at the negotiating table.
The agreement with very hard conditions for all of us was adopted as a result of a comprehensive assessment of the situation. We had to choose between the very bad and tragedy. We preferred the very bad.
That day was the worst day of my life, a personal tragedy for me.
But the realization that as a result of that decision we managed to preserve most of Artsakh and the main military potential of the Defense Army, says that we have no right to be depressed, we must unite, quickly recover and prepare to continue the struggle.
As Chief of Staff and direct Commander of the Armed Forces, I am responsible for all the successes and failures of the Armed Forces.
I bow my head in memory of all the martyrs, In front of their relatives. A very cruel war was imposed on us, and in an unequal struggle, the Armenian soldier and officer showed the determination to fight to the end, showed the highest moral qualities.
This was a real Heroic Battle. The Armenian nation can be proud of its soldiers, officers and generals.
My comrades-in-arms,
We must not despair and we must continue to defend our homeland, seriously analyze and draw conclusions, rebuild the Armenian army, increase its combat effectiveness.
Thank you for your dedicated service. Let us unwaveringly fulfill the tasks set before us with high consciousness and responsibility, with our unity and unbreakable will”.
