Video Alleging Aliyev Offered Pashinyan $5 Billion for 7 Regions of Artsakh Sent to Investigative Committee

A video containing former Armenian Ambassador to the Vatican Mikael Minasian's statement regarding Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's alleged offer of $5 billion to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the territories of seven regions of Artsakh will be subject to investigation by the Republic of Armenia's Investigative Committee. This follows statements made by the former head of the Ministry of Defense's Military Inspection Service, M. Hakobyan, during a press conference.

Gor Abrahamyan, an advisor on media relations for the Armenian Prosecutor General, told Factinfo that the video was recorded as part of the ongoing media monitoring conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office and has been forwarded to the Investigative Committee for examination in connection with a criminal case initiated based on M. Hakobyan's press conference remarks under Article 308, Part 2 of the Armenian Criminal Code.

Earlier, former Ambassador Mikael Minasian stated on December 11 that in October 2018, Aliyev offered Pashinyan $5 billion in exchange for the seven regions of Artsakh. The offer was communicated through a confidential letter from a senior official of the Azerbaijani government to a representative of Pashinyan's government in a five-star hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The letter's content reportedly stated: 'We, the government of Azerbaijan, are prepared to provide Nikol Pashinyan with $5 billion through European clean funds that will not be associated with Azerbaijan in any way. $5 billion for the seven regions, 5+2,' Minasian noted.

He later declared that the proposal was made by the head of Azerbaijani intelligence and was transmitted to then-Director of the National Security Service, Arthur Vanetsyan. Vanetsyan received the proposal in a sealed envelope and handed it over to Pashinyan. Vanetsyan confirmed that a meeting took place in Dubai and that he had facilitated operational communication at the prime minister's directive. 'As National Security Service director, I officially ensured the operational communication between Nikol Pashinyan and the President of Azerbaijan. There have been numerous meetings, including in Dubai, and the members of the National Security Council are well aware of these discussions; I cannot say more,' he stated.