Political figures and civic activists from Armenia and Artsakh have condemned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s call to “lower the bar” regarding the status of Artsakh in negotiations on a peace deal with Azerbaijan. 

On April 14, the Artsakh parliament adopted a unanimous joint statement demanding that the authorities of Armenia “abandon the current catastrophic position.” 

Artsakh Republic National Assembly Convened an Extraordinary Sitting, April 14, 2022

“Any negotiation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan within the ‘peace’ agenda, which presupposes the forcible incorporation of Artsakh into Azerbaijan, as well as the signing of a document resulting from it, undermines not only the statehood of Artsakh, but also violates the inalienable right of the Armenians of Artsakh to live in their historical homeland,” the statement reads.

“No government has the right to agree in the negotiation process to lower the bar on status. [This is] unacceptable for Artsakh, as well as on the internationally recognized right to self-determination under the pretext of ‘peace’,” it continues. 

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan also stated that placing Artsakh under Azerbaijan’s control is “impossible” and “inadmissible” during an April 13 meeting with civil society representatives and administrative officials.

He presented three alternative options for the future status of Artsakh, including independence, union with Armenia or “some kind of relationship with Russia in a direct vertical framework.” He also suggested that the Russian peacekeeping forces should remain in Artsakh “indefinitely” as the “guarantors of the security of the Armenians of Artsakh.”  

Pashinyan has come under fire for a speech he delivered at the National Assembly on April 13, during which he said that Armenia faces pressure from the international community to slightly lower its claims to Artsakh.

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan addresses the National Assembly (RA National Assembly, April 14)

“Today, the international community clearly tells us that to be the only country in the world that on a bilateral level does not recognize the territorial integrity of an ally of Turkey, Azerbaijan, is a great danger not only for Artsakh but also for Armenia. Today, the international community again tells us to lower the bar a bit regarding the question of the status of Artsakh, and you will ensure a great international consolidation around Armenia and Artsakh. Otherwise, the international community says, do not rely on us, not because we do not want to help you, but because we cannot help you,” Pashinyan said.

He went on to say that the Artsakh conflict is “not a matter of territory but rather a matter of rights.”

“Status in the current situation is not a goal, but rather a means to guarantee the security and rights of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh,” Pashinyan said. 

He addressed the National Assembly once again the day after his speech to say that he does not intend to surrender Artsakh to Azerbaijan.

“What I’ve been saying has been all about not surrendering Karabakh. We are saying that the people of Karabakh must not leave Karabakh, the people of Karabakh must live in Karabakh, the people of Karabakh must have rights, freedoms, and a status,” Pashinyan said.

He did not clarify what the status of Artsakh would entail. 

Members of Pashinyan’s party also defended his speech. Civil Contract Party MP and head of the National Assembly foreign relations committee Eduard Aghajanyan said that the members of the Artsakh parliament “likely have not understood the content of the prime minister’s speech.” 

“Any process cannot take place behind the backs of the people of Artsakh,” Aghajanyan said. “Any solution, as a result of which Armenians must leave Artsakh, is not acceptable for the Republic of Armenia.” 

Later that same day, Civil Contract Party MP Vigen Khachatryan said the idea that Artsakh could have no future under the jurisdiction of Azerbaijan was “wrong.” 

Pashinyan’s comments also came under criticism from domestic civil society members. A group of 11 civic activists released a joint statement stating that the government is involved in a process that could have “serious and dangerous consequences for the security of the citizens of Armenia and Artsakh and the guarantee of their fundamental human rights and can in itself endanger security and peace.” 

“It is the responsibility of the Armenian leadership and international community to secure vital security guarantees and prevent the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Artsakh, which is inevitable if Artsakh is placed within Azerbaijan under any status,” the statement reads. 

Nver Kirakosyan, Artur Vanetsyan and Artur Avagyan stage a sit-in at Freedom Square (Artur Vanetsyan, April 18)

Opposition politicians have been calling for Pashinyan’s resignation. Former head of the National Security Service and chair of the Homeland Party Artur Vanetsyan announced on Sunday the start of an indefinite sit-in at Freedom Square to protest Pashinyan’s administration. 

The Homeland Party has announced the start of an indefinite sit-in at Freedom Square (Photo: Artur Vanetsyan)

“The so-called ‘authorities’ have entered the last stage of the destruction of our state and statehood. We have no time to delay,” he wrote on Facebook. “There is a way to stop this destructive cycle: Armenians must wake up and become one fist again.”

Artsakh War veterans Nver Kirakosyan and Artur Avagyan have declared a hunger strike (Nver Kirakosyan, April 20)

Two veterans from the 2020 Artsakh War, Nver Kirakosyan and Artur Avagyan, announced on Monday that they would be joining Vanetsyan’s sit-in and launching a hunger strike.

“The purpose of the hunger strike is to draw the attention of the representatives of our generation to the situation around Artsakh,” Kirakosyan wrote on Facebook. 

Meanwhile, Russia has indicated that it will act independently in mediating the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. 

On April 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused France and the US of being “caught up in a Russophobic frenzy” and refusing to collaborate within the format of the OSCE Minsk Group. 

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan had previously said that the sharp divide between Russia and the West over the former’s invasion of Ukraine has “sharply complicated the work of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs up to the level of joint discussions.” 

France and the United States have not denied that they refuse to cooperate with Russia within the OSCE Minsk Group. 

On April 13, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that Igor Khovaev has been appointed as a special envoy of the Foreign Ministry on fostering the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. 

During a press briefing the next day, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the United States is “ready to engage bilaterally with like-minded partners, including through the role as an OSCE Minsk Group co-chair, to help countries find a long-term comprehensive peace.”

In response to a follow-up question regarding whether the United States is “shutting the door to Russia’s mediation efforts,” Price responded that he “can’t speak to the role that Russia might play in this.”