“The cornerstone factor for the signing of the agreement was the statement of the fact that Stepanakert remained unprotected after the fall of Shushi, and if the war had not been stopped within hours, Stepanakert would have fallen, then Askeran, Martakert - and from 20 to 30 thousand of our soldiers would have been surrounded ", - quotes RIA Novosti his words.
He noted that "the troops could not influence the situation, since they were approached from the rear."
Earlier, Pashinyan stated that more than 20 thousand soldiers of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic were threatened with encirclement if he had not signed a ceasefire agreement.