YEREVAN. Nov 12 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said he realized that he was putting his life at risk when he signed the trilateral agreement with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia on a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrender of territories, but took the risk to save the troops.
"When there is a situation where a serviceman can no longer influence the situation, he should not die in the name of the motherland, but the motherland should make sacrifices in the name of the soldier. With that understanding I signed this infamous document, realizing that the risk of my personal death was high, not only in a political sense, but also in a physical sense. But the life of 25,000 soldiers was more important," Pashinyan said in his address to the nation.
There were no more combat-ready forces in the rear that could influence the situation in the active area, he said.
"Therefore, it was time for the commander, time for the motherland to make sacrifices. I signed the document with that understanding," Pashinyan said.