US Had Big Role in Levon Ter-Petrossian’s Resignation in 1998, Says Former Advisor

Assistant US Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland at one time made a significant contribution to the resignation of first president of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian (pictured). Armenian-American historian, former advisor (1991–1997) to the first president and one of the main participants in the Karabakh negotiations Gerard (Jirair) Libaridian said this to local daily 168 Zham. 

"Nuland is an old face. During our time, she had come to Armenia for negotiations. Victoria Nuland is one of those people who in 1997–1998 did a lot of work in Armenia's internal affairs. She made a huge contribution to Ter-Petrossian's resignation. The US was against Ter-Petrossian. Then US Ambassador Peter Thomson did everything to support the opposition, to push it to the extreme, working for a long time on replacing Ter-Petrossian," he said. 

Libaridian also described the role of American diplomats in 1998, in the act of Ter-Petrossian's successor, Robert Kocharian, coming to power. In particular, according to the historian, Nuland once said to him in conversation: "Ter-Petrossian is a smart man, but he's not strong — he cannot establish peace. But Kocharian is a strong man, he is a man who wins the war, and he will establish peace…"