Hagop comments (3): It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future.

This is the third time I post a comment Hagop made in the Armenian Weekly, I post in my blog. His first comment was on June 4, 2025, to “Profane and unbecoming”, Church leaders condemn Pashinyan’s attack on Clergy” article. The second comment I posted was on July 2, 2025 to “Victory has no alternative’: Armenian authorities raid church, arrest cleric amid escalating tensions” article. This comment pertained to “Trump’s “peace route” raises alarm over Armenian sovereignty” article on August 14, 2025 by Hoory Minoyan as well. Vaհe H Apelian 

“Let’s be clear: this deal was not about bending the knee — it was about making sure Armenia still has knees to stand on. For more than three decades, Armenia has been locked in a cycle of wars, blockades, and isolation that have cost lives, forced more than 1.3 million Armenians to flee the homeland, bled the economy dry, and left Armenia more vulnerable each year. Standing still was not an option. Signing this agreement was the only way to break that deadlock and open a path to actual stability.

People screaming “sellout” seem to forget Armenia lost the 2020 war and that the battlefield reality since then has been brutal. You don’t negotiate from a fantasy; you negotiate from the ground you’re standing on. And the ground was shifting against Armenia. Armenia had a choice: either secure a deal that locks in peace, brings in major U.S. investment, and opens Armenia to trade routes — or keep feeding its young people into another unwinnable war while the world moves on without us.

The so-called “Zangezur corridor” hysteria? Here’s the truth — it’s not a foreign-controlled strip carved out of Armenia. It’s infrastructure under Armenian sovereignty, regulated by Armenian law, and built with funding that will boost our economy. We’re not giving away territory; we’re monetising geography. Azerbaijan can’t just roll trucks in without our say-so, and anyone suggesting otherwise is deliberately fearmongering for political gain.

As for the constitution change — let’s stop pretending this is some unique betrayal. Every serious country in the modern world recognises internationally defined borders. Bringing the Armenian constitution into line with reality removes a constant excuse for Azerbaijan to escalate and puts Armenia on firmer legal ground internationally. That’s called statecraft, not surrender.

Yes, the deal doesn’t solve every single issue today — no peace agreement ever does. Prisoners of war, displaced persons, cultural heritage — these are ongoing negotiations, and they have a far better chance of resolution when Armenia is not under fire and when it has open channels to talk.

The loudest critics here aren’t offering an alternative beyond “fight more, lose more.” That’s not strategy — that’s emotional grandstanding dressed up as patriotism. Armenia chose a different path: one that keeps Armenia alive, opens its borders, strengthens its economy, and brings in allies we can actually rely on. It’s not perfect, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the alternative: national ruin and loss of statehood wrapped in the flag.

The peace framework is not about giving up Armenia. It is about giving Armenia a chance to have a future. It is about protecting Armenian sovereignty and territorial integrity, it is about placing Armenia on a sustainable path and chartering a trajectory to becoming a viable state."