“What is Armenia’s strategy regarding the future of Artsakh within the framework of your ‘There is a future!’ [pre-election] programs?” Seyran Ohanian, the parliamentary leader of the opposition Hayastan alliance, asked during the Armenian government’s question-and-answer session in the National Assembly.
Pashinian replied that he wants to strengthen Armenia’s security and sovereignty. He again blamed former Armenian governments for the loss of Karabakh and claimed that unspecified forces used the Karabakh conflict to undermine Armenia’s independence.
“You are again trying to distort or manipulate things by not answering the question,” countered Ohanian. “Whatever you say … it is during your rule that Artsakh was depopulated and it is during your rule that negotiations [with Azerbaijan] were stopped because of your contradictory statements and actions. And now you are doing nothing to take back our historical territory of Artsakh or at least negotiate for that purpose.”
“As prime minister of Armenia … my objective is the future of Armenia … The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia gives me responsibility for the future of the Republic of Armenia and I am focused on that issue,” said Pashinian.
He described as “ingratitude” critics’ claims that Yerevan “left Karabakh alone” after the 2020 war with Azerbaijan.
Pashinian’s government stopped championing the Karabakh’s right to self-determination in April 2022. A year later, Pashinian declared that it recognizes Karabakh as a part of Azerbaijan and will only strive to protect the “rights and security” of the Karabakh Armenians through the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty and other international mechanisms.
Armenian opposition leaders say that this policy change paved the way for the recent Azerbaijani military offensive that restored Baku’s full control over Karabakh and forced its practically entire population to flee to Armenia. Alen Simonian, the Armenian parliament speaker and a top Pashinian ally, said last week that a peace treaty currently discussed by Baku and Yerevan should not contain any special provisions on Karabakh and the return of its ethnic Armenian residents.