Pashinyan accused Baku of viewing Armenia as ‘Western Azerbaijan’ and preparing for an invasion of Armenia. “Ilham Aliyev doesn’t want a peace agreement based on mutual recognition of territorial integrity. He wants to take control over new territories in Armenia,” the prime minister stated.
Pashinyan also noted that peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan is currently unattainable.
In mid-February, following a border encounter, Azerbaijan conducted a retaliatory military operation, destroying an Armenian military post near the border. Armenia reported the loss of four military personnel following the operation.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh has persisted for 30 years. In 2020, the long-standing conflict escalated rapidly. After 45 days of intense fighting, Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a ceasefire agreement, which was also endorsed by Arayik Harutyunyan, the leader of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh.
In May 2023, Pashinyan stated that he would officially recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Karabakh if the security of ethnic Armenians was guaranteed. Subsequently, both leaders confirmed the official recognition of each other’s current borders.
On September 9, 2023, the Karabakh parliament elected 45-year-old Samvel Shahramanyan as the new president of the republic. However, the results of this presidential election were not recognized by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the EU, Turkey, Moldova, Ukraine, Pakistan, and the UK.
In the same month, Azerbaijan carried out a second military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh to eliminate “the Stepanakert regime.” The operation lasted for just one day. On September 20, both sides agreed to a ceasefire. On September 28, Shakhramanyan signed a decree that effectively dissolved the self-proclaimed republic starting from January 1, 2024. On October 5, 2023, Pashinyan signed a declaration recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
