Appeasement of Aggressors Doesn't Stop War, Hrant Mikaelian Says
If your objective is avoiding war, appeasement of aggressor is not the best way to do that.
Political scientist Hrant Mikaelian directly challenges the Pashinyan government’s strategy of appeasing Turkey and Azerbaijan as a path to peace, drawing a stark historical parallel to the failed appeasement policies of the 1930s. Mikaelian argues that when faced with an aggressor preparing for war, the worst response is to signal weakness through concessions. Instead, he contends, Armenian policymakers should focus on making war unprofitable for the enemy, improving relations from a position of strength, and crucially, avoiding the creation of new adversaries, particularly Russia. The comment comes in response to statements by Ruben Rubinyan, newly elected Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, who frames his Turkey negotiations as an effort to prevent a future military conflict with a much larger neighbor. Mikaelian’s analysis cuts to the heart of a broader debate within Armenia about whether Western-aligned diplomatic engagement with Ankara represents genuine peacemaking or a strategic surrender of leverage. His historical invocation carries particular weight given Armenia’s recent experience in the 44-Day War, which many analysts view as partially enabled by the erosion of Armenian deterrence and military readiness that occurred under the Pashinyan government’s early tenure.
Transcript
Hrant Mikaelian: Well, first of all, if your objective is avoiding the war, then we have a historical track record that appeasement of aggressor is not the best way to do that. And appeasement of aggressor, as we all know, was a policy by Chamberlain and Daladier before the Second World War, which resulted in the Second World War because Hitler thought he can do whatever he wants. And ultimately, this led to the Second World War. And the same happens here. I mean, whatever we see, any signal from Turkey and Azerbaijan objectively studied shows that they are preparing for the new war. That's the reality.