15:06, 14 March 2023

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, ARMENPRESS. Russia is the guarantor of security of Nagorno Karabakh under the terms of the 2020 agreement and Nagorno Karabakh won’t need to maintain a Defense Army of the present-day size if the threat of genocide by Azerbaijan were not to exist, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan made the remarks when asked whether or not Armenia would ensure Nagorno Karabakh’s security and continue being the guarantor of security of Nagorno Karabakh in the event of a possible escalation.

“Why did I sign the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement? For a simple reason, upon realizing that in that situation Armenia cannot be the full guarantor of security of Nagorno Karabakh, due to the circumstances known to you. And therefore, a system that would guarantee the security of Nagorno Karabakh had to be created. And under the trilateral statement, and the subsequent decision made by the Federation Council of Russia which authorized the President of Russia to send troops to Nagorno Karabakh, recorded that Russia is the guarantor of security of Nagorno Karabakh, and not because Armenia is rejecting it, but because, regrettably, due to the loss in the 44-Day War Armenia cannot fully implement that function. And therefore, summing up all these facts, we must record that Russia is the guarantor of security of Nagorno Karabakh under the obligation it assumed,” Pashinyan said.

PM Pashinyan noted that on the other hand there is the Defense Army in Nagorno Karabakh, which Azerbaijan is trying to misrepresent to be the military of Armenia. Pashinyan reiterated that Armenia does not maintain any military presence in Nagorno Karabakh.

He also commented on Azerbaijan’s claims that the Defense Army must be disbanded. “If there wouldn’t be a threat of genocide facing the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, where they are spending billions on maintaining an army in that harsh conditions, there won’t be the need to maintain a Defense Army at least of that size. The existence of the Defense Army in Nagorno Karabakh is the strongest evidence of preparations of genocide and ethnic cleansing [by Azerbaijan],” Pashinyan said.