«Մենք կկոտրենք նրանց ատամները» - Պատմում է Բորիս ԱՌՈՒՇԱՆՅԱՆԸ

Boris Arushanyan's article "We Will Break Their Teeth" is devoted to the recollections of the Chairman of the NKR Civic Council concerning his participation, in the summer of 1992, in the first negotiations of the Karabakh delegation within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group in Rome.

Introduction and Context
The author describes the situation of spring–summer 1992: the creation of the Minsk Group, the Azerbaijani offensive supported by the former Soviet 23rd Division, the capture of Martakert, the acute political crisis, and the sudden appointment of B. Arushanyan as head of the Karabakh delegation. It is emphasized that the decision to travel to Rome was made by the NKR leadership under conditions of complete uncertainty and fear of possible forced concessions.

Conditions for Participation in the Negotiations
The key point of the article is the position put forward by the author before departure:

the delegation would not sign a single document until it was certain it did not contradict the interests of Artsakh;
the nature of the negotiation process would be assessed independently on the spot;
this position was adopted despite pressure from President L. Ter-Petrosyan, who called for compliance.

The Situation at the Negotiations in Rome
The author describes the shock of the Karabakh delegation upon discovering that the Armenian side was already discussing timetables for the withdrawal of troops from Shushi and Lachin without the knowledge of the NKR leadership. In response, the Karabakh delegation put forward three fundamental demands:

refusal to consider troop withdrawal timetables while hostilities continued;
recognition of the NKR's negotiating status as equal to that of Azerbaijan;
a comprehensive approach to the negotiations, with priority given to the question of the NKR's status as the root cause of the conflict.

The Struggle Against the Thesis of "Armenian Aggression"
A separate place is devoted to the episode of refuting the Azerbaijani claim that Shushi had been taken by a "15,000-strong expeditionary corps" of Armenia. Using simple logistical calculations (the throughput capacity of the single helicopter route through the blockade), the author convinced the U.S. representative John Maresca and the other participants of the Minsk Group of the untenability of this version, which led to the removal of the "aggressor" label from Armenia.

Expansion of the Negotiating Agenda
The NKR delegation further succeeded in excluding Turkey from among the possible mediators, arguing this on the grounds of its military-political support for Azerbaijan and the history of the Armenian Genocide, and also initiated the clarification of key terms of the negotiation process ("parties to the conflict," "conflict zone"), insisting on a broader understanding of the zone of hostilities.

Conclusion
The key conclusion of the article is that the firm and consistent position of the Karabakh delegation, based on factual analysis and the rejection of hasty compromises, made it possible to achieve recognition of the NKR's equal status in the negotiation process, to prevent the unilateral surrender of territories, and to lay down the principles that determined the further course of the Minsk Group negotiations.