Newmag presented Hrayr Balian's book "Anatomy of Peacemaking " at AGBU Armenia

Karen Harutyunyan considers the book "Anatomy of Peacemaking" to be an encyclopedic work, as the author researched archival documents and conducted interviews with former Armenian presidents, co-chairs, and diplomats.

"The author also used his decades of experience as a negotiator and mediator. Hrayr Balian was one of the architects of the independence of Kosovo and Montenegro."

Hrayr Balian said that the idea to write the book arose in 2023, when Karabakh was already in danger, and he began to ponder, trying to understand why and how we failed the negotiations:

"In 1997, we were offered to postpone the final status of Karabakh indefinitely. The Co-Chairs proposed to regulate the de facto independence of Karabakh in the context of international law.

Instead, we should have returned the five regions, but kept Lachin, maybe also Kelbajar. Artsakh should have kept the army, autonomy. We should have also discussed the issue of Azerbaijani refugees. But the Armenian and Artsakh defense ministers refused.

You keep a big piece by giving a little, but we do not accept concessions. We have not prepared the people that we can make concessions. For us, compromise is something equal to betrayal.

In the book, the author identifies nine negotiation failures, one of which, according to the author, is being maximalist and not making concessions. Hrayr Palean also considers it wrong that Artsakh was left out of the negotiation process: “Among the dangerous and irresponsible steps of Armenia are the statements of the government in 2019-20.

“The state made irresponsible statements. Azerbaijan found a legal basis to start a war. In addition, the whole world was busy with Covid.”

Balian also touched upon the initialed peace agreement, the 17 articles of which do not include a clause about the more than two hundred square meters of land occupied by Azerbaijan.

There is also no point about the Armenian hostages, who are illegally and baselessly held in Azerbaijani prisons. Their issue should be on the agenda every day until the issue is resolved.